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ORSYTH   COUNTY^^ 


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Forsyth  County 


BY 

ADELAIDE  L.  FRIES 


SALEn,  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

1898. 


WINSTON : 
Stewarts'  Printing  House 

1893. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

The  Evolution  of  Forsyth  County 3 

First  Settlement  of  Wachovia 17 

Wachovia  and  the  Revolutionary 

War , 33 

The  Title  to  Wachovia 40 

Kernersville.    FRiEDBEiia.    Fried- 
land.    Hope 47 

The  Court  House  Tract 53 

Naming  the  County  Town 67 

Forsyth  County  Courts 72 

County  Militia 82 

Forsyth  and  the  Civil  War 89 

Township  Lines 107 

Forsyth  Court  House 119 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Forsyth  County Frontispiece 

Graxts    to  Sir    Robert    Heath    and 
THE  Eight  Lords  Proprietors,  facing 

page 4 

The   Evolution  of  Forsyth  County, 

facing  page 14 

Proposed  Plan  of  Salem,  facing  page..    26 

First  Court  House,  facing  page 76 

Winston     and     Salem     Corporation- 
Lines,  facing  page 114 

Forsyth  Court  House,  facing  page 118 


FORSYTH  COUNTY, 


OT  all  that  has  disappeared  from 
view  is  lost  forever ;  not  all  that  is 
forgotten  can  be  no  more  remem- 
bered. Lord  Bacon  says  that  "by 
an  exact  and  scrnpnloiis  diligence  and 
observation,  out  of  monuments,  names, 
words,  proverbs,  traditions,  private 
records  and  evidences,  fragments  of  sto- 
ries, passages  of  books  that  concern  not 
story,  and  the  like,"  it  is  possible  to 
"  save  and  recover  somewhat  from  the 
deluge  of  time." 

Forsyth  stands  not  upon  the  page  of 
history  blood-red  with  battle  or  pale  with 
the  counsels  of  the  nations,  yet  behind 
her  and  around  her  lies  the  story  of  a 
commonwealth,  and  within  her  borders 
men  have  lived  and  wrought,  have 
served    their     God,    their    State,    their 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Country  faithfully,  even  as  Avhere  the 
trumpet  notes  of  fame  have  called  all 
men  to  witness. 

Kow  she  stands  forth,  crowned  with 
the  majesty  of  years  of  growth  and  ever 
widening  influence,  and  bids  the  pen 
unfold  the  Past,  and  give  to  these  her 
children  the  record  of  her  life,  nor  let 
her  quiet  days  of  joy  and  sorrow,  strug- 
gle and  achievement,  sink  all  unheeded 
into  the  dust  of  a^es. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE   EVOLUTION   OF   FORSYTH 
COUNTY. 

On  October  30th,  1629,  King  Charles 
I,  of  El. gland,  gave  to  Sir  Robert  Heath, 
bis  Attorney  General,  that  portion  of 
the  American  Continent,  stretching  from 
th'e  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  between  the 
degrees  of  latitude  36  and  31,  or  from  a 
line  that  would  pass  through  Durham, 
]N.  C,  almost  to  the  southern  boundary 
of  Georgia.  This  land  was  called  Caro- 
lina in  honor  of  King  Charles,  the  por- 
tion of  the  continent  to  the  south  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Florida^  "Land  of 
Flowers." 

No  active  steps  were  taken  towards 
establishing  a  colony  there,  and  so,  on 
March  24th,  1663,  Charles  II  gave  Car- 
olina to  eight  English  Lords,  deciding 
that  Robert  Heath's  title  w^as  forfeited 


4:  HISTORY    OF 

by  his  neglect  of  the  province.  A  little 
later  it  was  discovered  that  about  thirty- 
one  miles  were  left  between  the  36°  and 
the  Virginia  line,  and  therefore  on  June 
30th,  1665,  a  second  Patent  was  given 
the  Lords  Proprietors  extending  their 
boundaries  to  36°  30''  on  the  north, 
where  it  met  Virginia,  and  to  29°  on  the 
south. 

The  first  settlements  were  naturally 
along  the  sea  coast,  travel  by  land  being 
slow  and  difficult,  and  the  first  County 
to  be  established  was  Clarendon^  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Cape  Fear ;  Albemarle 
County  on  Albemarle  Sound  following 
very  shortly.  It  was  the  intention  to 
form  another  county — Craven — south  of 
Cape  Remain,  (including  the  harbors  of 
Charleston  and  Port  Royal,)  but  this 
was  not  carried  out. 

Clarendon  promised  well  at  first,  but 
a  settlement  from  New  England  and  two 
from  the  Barbadoes  failed  in  succession, 
and  the  county  was  practically  aban- 
doned for  a  number  of  years,  Albemarle 


I 


5o 


s- 


FORSYTH    COUNTY .  5 

beiDg  the  seat  of  govern mert   and  the 
only  one  appearing  in  the  records. 

By  the  end  of  1696,  a  settlement  had 
sprung  up  on  "  Pampticoe  Kiver  "  (Pam- 
lico Sound),  and  on  December  9th,  the 
County  of  Bath  was  erected.  It  gradu- 
ally grew  southward  to  the  Xeuse  and 
Cape  Fear  Rivers,  taking  the  place  of 
the  extinct  County  of  Clarendon.  Like 
Albemarle,  thf  County  of  Bath  was 
divided  into  ''  Precincts,''  practically  set- 
tlements scattered  in  different  parts  of 
the  county  and  each  entitled  to  certain 
representation  in  the  General  Assembly. 
Of  these  Precincts,  New  Hanover^  formed 
in  1729,  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Cape 
Fear  Kiver.  Until  comparatively  mod- 
ern times  the  boundaries  of  Precincts 
and  Counties  were  not  carefully  surveyed 
lines,  but  the  growth  from  a  settlement 
would  in  a  manner  retain  a  connection 
with  it,  until,  having  attained  a  consid- 
erable size,  it  would  desire  its  own  rep- 
resentation and  rights;  thus  the  growth 
up  the  Cape  Fear  River  from  Xew  Han- 


b  HISTORY    OF 

over  in  ITS-i  became  Bladen  Pi^ecinct^ 
named  for  Martin  Bladen,  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trade. 

In  1738,  the  names  of  Albemarle  and 
Bath  were  dropped,  and  the  Precincts 
became  Counties. 

Then  the  settlement  spread  from  Bla- 
den County  on  the  Cape  Fear,  to  the 
Pee  Dee  or  lower  Yadkin,  and  became  a 
separate  county  in  1749,  under  the  name 
oi  Anson ^  who  at  one  time  lived  in  Car- 
olina, and  was  raised  to  the  Peerage  for 
his  brilliant  services  in  the  Spanish  war. 

With  Anson  County  came  the  begin- 
ning of  definite  boundaries,  and  Anson 
extended  from  the  South  Carolina  line 
to  Yirginia,  the  line  dividing  it  from 
Bladen  being  about  "  equi-distant  from 
Saxpahaw  Piver  (Haw  Piver)  and  Great 
Pee  Dee  Piver,"  and  it  was  enacted  that 
"all  the  inhabitants  to  the  westward  of 
the  afore-mentioned  dividing  line,  shall 
belong  and  appertain  to  Anson  County." 

But  b}^  this  time  the  Government  of 
Carolina  had  changed  hands.     Originally 


FORSYTH    COUNTY. 


"  North  Carolina  "  was  only  the  thirty- 
mile  strip  next  to  Virginia  given  to  the 
Proprietors  by  their  second  Charter,  all 
the  rest  being  "Carolina"  ;  then  in  course 
of  time  settlements  in  the  far  south  of 
their  possessions  became  ''  South  Caro- 
lina," and  the  term  ''North  Carolina"was 
widened  until  it  covered  the  territory 
from  Virginia  to  South  Carolina,  and 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  nomi- 
nally, although  in  fact  it  never  crossed 
the  Mississippi. 

In  1710  Governors  were  appointed 
separately  for  North  and  South  Carolina, 
and  in  1719  South  Carolina,  tired  of  Pro- 
prietory government,  threw  it  off,  claim- 
ing and  receiving  the  protection  of  the 
Crown.  North  Carolina,  on  the  other 
hand,  moved  on  in  a  sturdy,  independ- 
ent fashion,  her  Assembly  making  such 
laws  as  it  thcught  best,  and  obeying  the 
Proprietors'  Governor  until  he  became 
unendurable,  and  then  deposing  him, 
and  welcoming  the  next  incumbent. 

But  the  original  Proprietors  died,  and 


8  HISTORY    OF 

their  heirs  found  Carolina  a  poor  invest- 
ment and  a  troublesome  charge  ;  in  1728, 
therefore,  the  holders  of  seven  of  the 
eight  equal  undivided  shares  proposed  to 
sell  all  their  interest  in  Carolina  to  the 
Crown,  and  the  proposition  was  accepted. 
John,  Lord  Carteret^  afterwards  Earl 
Granville,  decided  to  retain  his  one- 
eighth  of  the  property,  but  gave  up  all 
claim  to  the  sovereignty.  Although 
South  Carolina  had  thrown  off  the  rule 
of  the  Proprietors  their  landed  rights 
were  unquestioned,  and  all  the  territory 
granted  by  the  Charters  of  Charles  II 
was  involved  in  the  purchase,  the  Crown 
paying  £2,500  for  each  of  the  seven 
shares,  and  an  additional  £5,000  for 
unpaid  quit  rents — a  total  of  £22,500, 
or  about  $112,500. 

Lord  Granville  asked  that  his  share 
be  laid  off  for  him  wherever  a  committee, 
appointed  half  by  himself  and  half  by 
the  Crown,  should  decide.  This  petition 
"  his  majesty  was  pleased  to  refer  to  the 
rii^ht  honorable  the  lords  of  the  commit- 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  9 

tee  of  his  majesty's  most  honourable 
privy  council  ",  they  referred  it  to  "  the 
lords  commissioners  for  trade  and  planta- 
tions", they  reported  to  the  privy  coun- 
cil, and  they  reported  to  his  majesty, 
some  twelve  years  after  the  petition  was 
offered.  But  the  report  being  favorable, 
and  his  majesty  approving,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  select  the  location,  and 
in  1741  Lord  Granville  received  his 
share  from  George  II,  then  reigning.  It 
was  "  in  the  province  of  Xorth  Carolina, 
next  adjoining  and  contiguous  to  the 
province  of  Yirginia,"  and  w^as  "  bounded 
to  the  north  by  the  line  that  divides  Car- 
olina from  Yirginia,  to  the  east  by, the 
great  western  ocean,  commonly  so  called 
(Atlantic),  and  as  far  southwardly  as  a 
cedar  stake  set  upon  the  sea-side  in  the 
latitude  of  35°  34''  north  latitude,  "  * 
from  that  stake  by  a  west  line  "  ^  as 
far  as  the  bounds  of  the  charter  granted 
to  the  lords  proprietors  of  Carolina." 
This  land  w^as  granted  to  ''John,  Lord 
Carteret,  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever," 


10  HISTORY    OF 

they  "yielding  and  paying  to  his  said 
majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors  the 
annua]  rent  of  1£  13s  4d,  payable  at  the 
feast  of  All  Saints,  forever :  and  also 
one-fourth  part  of  all  gold  and  silver  ore 
that  shall  be  found." 

On  March  27th,  1753,  that  part  of 
Lord  Granville's  property  lying  in  Anson 
County  was  formed  into  a  separate 
county  under  tlie  name  of  Roioan^  so 
called  from  Matthew  Kowan,  at  that  time 
President  of  the  General  Assembly  and 
Chief  Executive  of  the  Province,  Gov- 
ernor Johnston  having  died,  and  Gov- 
ernor Dobbs  having  not  yet  come.  The 
Act  provided — 

"That  Anson  County  be  divided  by  aline, 
to  be^in  where  Anson  line  was  to  cross  Earl 
Granville's  line,  and  from  thence,  in  a  direct 
line  north,  to  the  Virjjinia  line  ;  and  that  the 
said  County  be  bounded  to  the  north  by  the 
Virginia  line,  and  to  the  south  by  the  south- 
ern-most line  of  Earl  Gfranville's  land  :  *  *  * 
and  that  all  the  inhabitants  to  the  westward 
of  the  said  line,  and  included  within  the 
before  mentioned  boundaries  shall  belong  and 
appertain  to  Rowan  County." 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  11 

These  ^vere  the  iirst  straight,  definitely 
surveyed  lines  in  the  history  of  the 
Counties;  and  the  Granville  line  may 
be  seen  on  a  modern  map  of  North  Car- 
olina, in  the  line  which  divides  Moore, 
Montgomery,  Stanly  and  Cabarrus,  from 
Kandolph,  Davidson,  Rowan  and  Ire- 
dell. 

On  December  5th,  ITTO,  the  Assembly 
held  at  New-Bern,  Wm.  Tryon  being 
Governor,  passed  an  Act  by  which,  on 
April  1st,  1771,  the  northern  part  of 
Rowan  County  became  Surry  County^ 
named  for  Lord  Surry,  a  leading  member 
of  the  Whig  party  in  England.  Guil- 
ford County,  which  then  included  Rock- 
ingham and  Randolf,  had  been  erected 
earlier  in  the  same  session  of  the  Assem- 
bly ;  the  boundaries  of  Surry  County 
therefore  began 

"at  a  point  forty-two  miles  north  of  Earl 
Granville's  line,  on  Guilford  County  line ; 
thence  running  north  to  the  Virginia  line  ; 
thence  westwardly  along  the  mountains  to 
the  ridge  that  divides  the  waters  of  the  Yad- 
kin and  the  Catawba  rivers  ;  thence  along  the 


12  HISTORY    OF 

said  ridge  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Rowan 
county  ;  thence  east  along  Rowan  county  line 
to  the  beginning." 

The  southern  line  was  altered  in  1773, 
and  the  western  boundary  was  changed 
in  1777,  when  Wilkes  County  was  formed 
from  part  of  Snrry  and  part  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Washington,  the  rest  of  that  Dis- 
trict becoming  the  County  of  Washing- 
ton, now  the  State  of  Tennessee. 

In  the  records  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly held  at  Fayetteville,  on  November 
2nd,  1789,  Samuel  Johnston  being  Gov- 
ernor, this  Act  appears  : 

"Whereas,  The  large  extent  and  inconven- 
ient situation  of  the  County  of  Surry,  render 
the  attendance  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
extreme  parts  at  courts,  elections  and  general 
musters,  difficult  and  expensive  :  For  remedy 
whereof,  and  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  the  good 
people  of  the  county  :  1.  Be  it  enacted,  etc., 
That  from  and  after  the  passing  of  this  act, 
the  county  of  Surry  shall  be  divided  into  two 
distinct  counties,  by  a  line  beginning  on  the 
line  dividing  this  State  from  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, at  a  point  equidistant  from  the  nearest 
parts  of  the  counties  of  Rockingham  and 
Wilkes,  and  running  from  thence  until  it  inter- 
sects the  Rowan  county  line,  so  as  to  leave  an 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  13 

equal  number  of  acres  in  each  county.  2.  And 
be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  that  part  of  the 
said  county,  lying:  west  of  said  line,  shall  be 
erected  into  a  distinct  county  by  the  name  of 
Surry  county  ;  and  all  that  part  lying  east  of 
said  line,  shall  be  erected  into  another  distinct 
county  by  the  name  of  Stokes  County.^'' 

This  naTue  was  given  in  honor  of  Colo- 
nel, after^Yards  Judge  John  Stokes, 
brother  of  Governor  Montford  Stokes. 

The  line  between  Surry  and  Stokes 
Counties  seems  originally  to  have  run 
south  by  survey  until  it  touched  the 
Yadkin  River  the  second  time,  and  then, 
according  to  custom,  to  have  followed 
the  river  to  Rowan  County.  In  this  dis- 
tance the  river  curved  to  the  west  and 
back  again,  forming  a  large  C.  In  1797 
"all  that  part  of  the  county  of  Stokes 
lying  south  of  the  Yadkin  river "  was 
added  to  Surry,  and  when,  later,  the 
southern  part  of  Surry  was  erected  into 
Yadkin  County,  this  segment,  cut  off  by 
the  river  from  the  county  to  which  it 
belonged,  became  popularly  known  as 
"  Little  Yadkin."     The  Act  of  1797  gave 


14  HISTORY    OF 

a  straight  and  definite  line  from  the  bend 
of  the  Yadkin  soiith,  but  to  go  north 
directly  from  the  bend,  according  to  the 
Act  of  1789,  gave  to  Stokes  a  narrow, 
ragged  strip  of  land  on  the  west  of  the 
river:  in  1811,  therefore,  the  line  was 
changed,  and  it  was  enacted — 

"That  after  the  county  line  intersects  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  lands  formerly 
belonging  to  Samuel  Kirby,  senior,  now  Jo- 
seph Wilson,  it  sha.ll  run  thence  along  the 
southern  and  western  boundaries  of  said  land 
to  the  Yadkin  river  ;  thence  up  the  river  until 
it  intersects  the  present  line  between  the  two 
counties." 

During  the  session  of  Assembly  in  the 
winter  of  1848-181:9,  Stokes  County  was 
divided  by  an  xVct  that  read   as  follows: 

"Whereas,  the  extent  and  peculiar  situation 
of  the  county  of  Stokes  render  it  desirable, 
with  a  large  majority  of  its  inhabitants,  to 
have  the  same  divided  :  Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted 
by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the 
authority  of  the  same.  That,  from  and  after 
the  passing  of  this  act,  the  county  of  Stokes 
shall  be  divided  into  two  distinct  counties,  by 
a  line  beginning  at  the  south-west  corner  of 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  15 

Rockingham    county,    and    running    thence 
west  to  the  Surry  county  line. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  fti^rther  enacted.  That  all 
that  part  of  the  said  county,  lying  north  of 
said  line,  shall  be  erected  into  a  distinct  county 
by  the  name  of  Stokes  county  ;  and  all  that 
part  lying  south  of  said  line,  shall  be  erected 
into  another  distinct  county  by  the  name  of 
Forsyth  county,  in  honor  of  the  memory  of 
Col.  Benjamin  Forsyth,  a  native  of  Stokes 
county,  who  fell  on  the  jS^orthern  frontier  in 
the  late  war  with  England.'' 

Col.  Forsyth  was  born  in  Stokes 
County,  and  was  a  member  of  the  I^orth 
Carolina  Legislature  in  1807-8.  He  was 
appointed  a  lieutenant  of  infantry  from 
North  Carolina,  and  became  a  captain  of 
riflemen  in  1808.  During  the  war  of 
1812,  he  commanded  in  the  successful 
assault  on  Gananoque,  Upper  Canada, 
and  won  his  rank  as  lieutenant-colonel  at 
the  capture  of  the  British  Guard  at 
Elizabethtown.  He  also  distinguished 
himself  at  the  capture  of  Fort  George, 
and  at  the  attack  on  York.  He  was 
killed  in  battle  with  a  superior  force  of 
British  and  Indians,  near  Oldtown,  N. 
Y.,  on  June  28th,  1811. 


16  HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUNTY. 

An  Act,  supplemental  to  the  one 
dividing  Stokes  County,  gave  a  number 
of  particulars  as  to  the  formation  of  the 
county  government,  etc.,  and  appointed 
Caleb  Jones,  Frederick  0.  Meinung  and 
John  Banner  to  run  the  dividing  line. 
The  third  section  of  the  Act  provided — 

"That  Zadok  Stafford,  John  Stafford,  Henry 
A.  Lemly,  Leonard  Conrad  and  Francis  Fries, 
be  appointed  commissioners  for  the  county  of 
Forsyth,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  select  suit- 
able sites  for  permanent  seats  of  justice  in  their 
respective  counties  [  Stokes  commissioners 
were  also  appointed]  ;  to  purchase  *  *  * 
tracts  of  land  on  which  to  erect  the  necessary 
public  buildings  ;  to  lay  off  the  residue,  not 
used  for  public  purposes,  in  streets  and  town 
lots  ;  to  sell  such  lots  at  public  auction  ;  *  * 
to  purchase  for  and  at  each  court-house  not 
less  than  thirty  acres  of  land.  Sec.  4.  That 
the  title  to  the  said  tracts  of  land  obtained  by 
said  commissioners  shall  be  made  to  the  chair- 
man of  the  county  court  of  county  in  which 
such  land  is  situated,  and  his  successors." 

The  Act  dividing  Stokes  was  ratified 
on  January  16th,  1819,  which  might  be 
called  the  birthday  of  Forsyth  County. 


CHAPTEE  II. 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  WACHOVIA. 

Some  ninety-seven  years  before  the 
erection  of  Forsyth  County,  a  traveler 
from  beyond  the  seas  came  to  Carolina. 
Nathaniel  Kice  was  at  that  time  the 
Chief  Executive  of  the  Province,  having 
been  President  of  the  Council  on  July 
ITth,  1752,  when  Governor  Johnston 
died,  and  beiug  in  his  turn  succeeded, 
January  29th,  1753,  by  Matthew  Rowan, 
already  referred  to  in  connection  with 
the  naming  of  Rowan  County. 

The  visitor,  Bishop  Joseph  Spangen- 
berg,  came  as  the  representative  of  the 
Unitas  Featrum,  or  Moravian  Church, 
which  had  its  headquarters  at  Herrnhut, 
Saxony,  and  was  considering  the  pur- 
chase of  a  tract  of  land  from  Lord  Gran- 
ville, in  order  to  establish  a  settlement 
in   Carolina.      His   mission   was  to  find, 

9. 


18  HISTORY    OF 

somewliere  in  Lord  Granville's  land,  a 
well  watered  and  fertile  spot,  where  some 
100,000  acres  could  be  secured  in  a  com- 
pact body,  and  towns  could  be  built  and 
governed  according  to  Moravian  ideas. 
After  searching  all  the  northern  part  of 
the  State,  from  the  ocean  to  the  moun- 
tains, and  into  Tennessee,  he  found  such 
a  place  as  he  desired  ;  it  was  surveyed 
under  his  direction,  and,  on  August  7th, 
1753,  Lord  Granville  conveyed  the  "Wa- 
chovia Tract"  by  19  deeds  to  James 
Hutton,  of  London,  who  had  been 
selected  to  hold  the  title  to  the  land. 

According  to  the  agreement  of  the 
same  date  between  "  the  Right  Honor- 
able John  Earl  Granville  Viscount  Car- 
teret and  Baron  Carteret  of  liawnes," 
and  "James  Hutton,  Gentleman,  Secre- 
tary to  the  Unitas  Fratrum," — with  the 
approval  of  the  Lord  Advocate  (then 
Count  Zinzendorf),  the  Chancellor  and 
the  Agent  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum — Gran- 
ville, "in  consideration  of  the  sum  of 
Five  Hundred  pounds  Sterling     ^      " 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  19 

conveyed  to  the  said  James  Huttoii,  his 
heirs  and  assigns  (in  Trust  and  for  the 
Use,  Benefit  and  Behoof  of  the  said 
Unitas  Fratrum)  ••  ''^  the  full  quan- 
tity ofNinety-Eiojht  Thousand Xiiie  Hun- 
dred and  Eighty- Five  Acres  of  land 
lying  in  the  county  of  Anson  "  " 
under  the  yearly  Rent  or  Sum  of  148£, 
9s.  2Jd,  (3  shillings  per  hundred  Acres)." 
If  any  gold  or  silver  mines  were  found 
i  was  reserved  for  the  King,  and  h  of  the 
remaining  f  f@r  Lord  Granville.  The 
rent  was  to  be  paid  semi-annually,  or 
annually  if  they  preferred,  and  if  it 
became  six  months  overdue,  the  title 
was  to  be  forfeited.  Four  years  were 
allowed  for  the  payment  of  the  50U£,  the 
4  per  cent,  interest  being  paid  with  the 
rent.  The  98,985  acres  in  19  tracts  were 
surveyed  by  Wm.  Churton,  and  the  deeds 
"Sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
Arthur  Dobbs  and  Ben  Wheatley." 

The  Unitas  Fratrum  had  no  available 
funds  to  support  so  large  an  enterprise, 
but     individual     members    and    outside 


20  HISTORY    OF 

friends  sn])scribed  an  amount  sufficient 
"for  locating  and  surveying  the  Land, 
for  tlie  payment  of  the  Purchase  Money 
and  the  yearly  Quit  rent  of  148£,  9s., 
2^d  Sterl,  -  -  and  still  larger  sums 
for  the  transportation  of  Settlers  from 
Europe,  most  of  them  Germans,  over  Sea 
to  Pennsylvania  and  thence  by  Land  to 
North  Carolina,  as  well  as  to  settle  and 
stock  Trades."  These  good  friends  were 
gradually  reimbursed  by  the  proceeds  of 
the  sale  of  lands  not  needed  for  the 
Moravian  towns. 

The  Wachovia  Tract  haviRg  been 
transferred  into  the  hands  of  the  Unitas 
Fratrum,  the  next  step  was  to  settle  their 
new  possessions,  and  for  this  purpose  a 
party  of  twelve  single  Brethren  left  Beth- 
lehem, Pa.,  on  October  Sth,  1753.  These 
pioneers  were  : 

Rev.  Bernhard  Adam  Grube — the  first 
Pastor, 

Jacob  Losch  (Lash) — Business  Mana- 
ger, 

Hans  Martin   Kalbcrlahn — Physician, 


FORSYTH    COUXTY.  21 

John  Berotli  and  John  Lislier — Farm- 
ers, 

Herman  Losh — Miller, 
Jacob  Lung — Gardener, 
Christopher  Merkle — Baker, 
Ericli  Ingebresten — Carpenter, 
Henry    Feldhansen  —  Carpenter    and 
Hunter, 

Hans  Peterson — Tailor, 
Jacob  Pfeil — Shoemaker. 
''  In  a  wagon  with  six  liorses  they  car- 
ried the  various  articles  needed  for  their 
journey,"  and  to  provide  the  necessary 
food  "  some  of  their  number  would  go 
to  farms,  sometimes  ten  miles  off  their 
road,  and  help  to  thresh  the  oats"  besides 
paying  for  what  they  took  away.  ''  ±Sot 
unfrequently  they  had  to  unload  and 
carry  a  portion  of  their  baggage  over  the 
mountains.  They  generally  prepared 
their  frugal  morning  meal  at  three 
o'clock,  and  started  by  the  dawn  of  day, 
after  their  regular  morning  prayer."  On 
November  13th,  they  crossed  the  Caro- 
lina line,  and   "  on  Saturday,  the  ITth  of 


•>•'> 


HISTORY    OF 


November,  1753,  at  three  o'clock  P.  M., 
they  reached  the  spot  where  stands  to 
this  da}'  the  town  of  Bethabara^  now 
commonly  called  Old  Tovm.'"  "  Here 
they  found  shelter  in  a  small  cabin,  built 
and  previously  inhabited  by  a  German  of 
the  name  of  Hans  AYagner,  but  then 
unoccupied."  On  Sunday  they  rested, 
but  on  the  following  day  went  energeti- 
cally to  work,  and  the  little  clearing  soon 
became  a  center  of  attraction  to  ^11  the 
surrounding  country,  the  services  of  the 
physician  and  tailor  especially  being 
greatly  needed  by  the  scattered  and 
badly  equipped  population. 

In  Carolina,  copying  the  mother-coun- 
try, the  Church  of  England  was  for  many 
years  the  established  church.  Each 
county  was  constituted  a  Parish,  with  a 
Yestry  which  had  charge  of  the  spiritual 
affairs  of  the  Parish,  ke])t  the  register  of 
births  and  marriages,  etc.  While  indi- 
vidual liberty  of  worship  was  usually  not 
interfered  with,  this  supervision  was 
unpleasant  to  the  Moravians,  who  had  a 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  23 

very  complete  system  of  their  own  for 
tlie  government  of  tlieir  congregations 
{uid  towns.  AVachovia  w^as  still  under 
the  care  of  the  chnrch  authorities  in 
Betlileheni,  Pa.,  and  they  took  advantage 
of  the  coming  of  Arthur  Dobbs,  the  new 
Governor  for  North  Carolina,  to  petition 
special  favor  in  the  matter. 

To  Governor  Arthur  Dobbs. 
May  it  Please  Your  Excellency  : 
Whereas,  His  Majesty  and  the  late  British 
Parliament  in  the  year  1749  have  thought 
proper  to  pass  an  Act  in  favor  of  the  people 
known  by  the  name  of  Unitas  Fratrum,  in 
order  to  encourage  them  to  settle  in  the  Brit- 
ish Plantations  in  America.  *  *  *  And 
whereas,  since  that  time  the  Lord  Advocate, 
Chancellor,  and  Agent  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum 
have  purchased  a  large  Tract  of  Land,  now 
called  by  them  Wachovia,  ^  *  in  order  to 
settle  a  number  of  United  Brethren  thereon. 
And  whereas,  we  and  our  United  Brn.  value 
nothing  so  much  as  Liberty  of  Conscience,  and 
the  granting  an  unlimited  Liberty  of  Con- 
science to  our  people  will  prove  a  proper 
encouragement  to  transplant  themselves  from 
these  and  other  parts  to  North  Carolina. 

Therefore,  we  the  Subscribers,  in  behalf  of 
our  United  Brn.  who  are  already  settled   on 


24:  HISTORY    OF 

the  said  land  called  Wachovia,  or  have  a  mind 
from  time  to  time  to  settle  there,  pray,  that 
your  Excellency  may  be  pleased  to  recommend 
to  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  the  General 
Assembly  of  N.  C.  to  pass  an  Act  for  the  fur- 
ther encouragement  of  the  people  known  by 
the  name  of  Unitas  Fratrum  to  settle  in  the 
province  of  N.  C.  whereby  the  land  called 
Wachovia  may  be  erected  into  a  seijarate  Par- 
ish, and  that  leave  be  given  to  regulate  the 
matters  in  said  Parish  according  to  the  Rules, 
Rites,  and  Forms  of  our  ancient  episcopal 
protestant  church,  which  when  so  granted, 
will  not  only  be  an  undoubted  encouragement 
for  our  Brn.  to  settle  themselves  readily  in  the 
province  of  N.  C.  but  also  cause  us  to  promote 
our  Brn's  removing  from  these  Northern  parts 
to  the  said  land  Wachovia,  and  at  the  same 
time  impress  a  deei^  sense  of  gratitude  upon 
the  minds  of 

Your  Excellencys 

most  obliged  (S: 
Bethlehem  in  most  obedient 

the  county  of  humble  servants 

Northampton  & 

Province  of  Penn.  David  Ep, 

19th  Aug.  1754.  Matthew  Episc. 

With  this  petition  from  Bishop  David 
Xitschmann  and  Bishop  Matthew  Hehl 
weTit  a  letter  from  Peter  Bochler,  then 
in    Edenton,    who  most  heartily   recom- 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  ZO 

mended  the  measure  to  Gov.  Dobbs,  urg- 
ing that  it  asked  only  what  all  the  north- 
ern Moravian  settlements  enjoyed,  and 
stating  that  without  this  privilege  it 
would  be  almost  impossible  to  induce 
more  of  the  Brethren  to  move  there. 

The  petition  met  with  a  kindly  recep- 
tion, and  the  General  Assembly,  in  ses- 
sion in  October,  1755,  passed  an  Act 
erecting  Wachovia  into  a  separate  and 
distinct  Parish,  which  received  the  name 
of  Dohhs  Parish.  The  success  of  this 
measure  meant  miich  to  the  new  settle- 
ment, and  ultimately  had  great  weight 
in  establishing  the  boundaries  of  the 
county. 

Meantime  the  Brethren  went  quietly 
on  with  their  work,  a  grist-mill  and 
meeting-house  were  erected,  and  at  the 
close  of  1756,  there  were  in  tlie  little 
town  18  married  people,  41- single  Breth- 
ren, 1  boy,  and  2  infants — 65  in  all. 

The  Indian  War  disturbed  the  follow- 
ing years,  but  brought  Bethabara  prom- 
inently before  the  people,  many  coming 


26  HISTORY    OF 

long  distances  to  buy  tlie  grain  which 
the  Brethren  continued  to  sell  at  the 
usual  price,  and  many  others  availing 
themselves  of  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  fortifications,  which  had  been  thrown 
up  around  the  village,  and  around  the 
mill.  Some  of  these  visitors  desiring  to 
connect  themselves  with  the  Moravians, 
it  was  decided  to  begin  another  town, 
and  a  suitable  location  havino^  been  found 
three  miles  northwest  of  Bethabara, 
about  2,000  acres  were  set  apart  for  the 
use  of  the  Bethania  congregation,  and  in 
July,  1759,  eight  married  couples  from 
Bethabara,  and  as  many  friends,  settled 
in  their  new  home. 

From  the  first  it  was  the  intention  to 
establish  a  town  in  the  very  center  of 
the  Tract,  and  the  name  which  they  gave 
to  their  first  village,  "Bethabara — House 
of  Passage,"  indicates  that  they  consid- 
ered it  only  as  the  stepping  stone  to  this 
central  town.  Peace  having  been 
restored  by  1762,  and  a  number  of  addi- 
tional settlers  having  come  to  Wachovia, 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  27 

it  became  possible  to  carry  out  tbisplan, 
and  on  February  14tb,  1765,  tbe  site  was 
selected  by  "  lot."  Five  situations  were 
chosen,  all  apparently  suitable  for  the 
purpose,  and  then,  according  to  their 
custom,  the  final  choice  was  left  with 
the  Lord,  the  result  being  that  Salem  (as 
Count  Zinzendorf  had  wished  it  to  be 
named)  was  placed  where  it  stands 
to-day. 

In  the  Archives  at  Herrnhut,  Ger- 
many, there  is  a  plot — a  "Project  zu 
einer  Stadt  in  North  Carolina."  In  the 
center  stands  the  Church,  about  it  in  a 
circle  six  Choir  Houses,  the  Apothecary 
Shop,  and  the  Inn  and  church  offices.  Be- 
tween these  buildings  run  eight  streets 
diverging  at  equal  angles,  and  each  has 
rows  of  shade  trees,  and  ten  town  lots, 
five  on  a  side  ;  then  comes  a  circular 
avenue,  and  ten  more  lots  on  each  street. 
Narrow  streets  pass  at  the  rear  of  tjie 
lots,  and  divide  the  intervening  sections, 
of  which  the  one  lying  toward  the  east 
is    occupied     by     the    "  Gottesacker " — 


28  HISTORY    OF 

''  God's  Acre."  A  second  circular  ave- 
nue encloses  the  whole.  Snch  was  the 
manner  in  wliich  it  was  proposed  to  build 
Wachovia's  principal  town,  when  as  yet 
it  had  not  even  a  name,  but  when  the 
time  came  the  land  seemed  unsuited  for 
it,  and  Forsyth  County  failed  to  receive 
what  would  have  been  a  unique  and 
attractive  sight  for  later  generations. 

On  January  6th,  1700,  the  first  log 
was  cut  for  the  first  house  to  be  built  in 
Salem,  and  on  February  19th,  eight 
young  men  moved  there,  killing  two 
deer  on  their  way  through  the  woods. 
Next  day  their  surveyor,  Reuter,  laid 
out  the  Square  of  the  future  town. 

In  1T6S  Frederick  AVilliam  von  Mar- 
shall came  with  iiis  family  to  settle  in 
Salem,  and  from  that  time  until  the  close 
of  the  century  he  was  the  central  figure 
in  the  history  of  Wachovia.  When  the 
Uuitas  Fratrum  bought  land  in  theXew 
World,  the  Quit  Claim  deeds  were  made 
in  the  name  of  some  individual  member 
(as  James  Ilutton,  of  London,  for  Wa- 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  29 

chovia),  and  the  inanagenieiit  rested  with 
the  German  Board.  As  the  American 
Province  increased  in  size  it  became  nec- 
essary to  have  a  representative  of  the 
Board  there;  a  PoAver  of  Attorney  was 
therefore  sent  by  Hiitton  to  Marshall, 
who  was  then  on  an  official  visit  to  Beth- 
lehem, Pa.,  authorizing  him  to  take 
charge  of  the  affairs  ot  the  Unity  in 
Wachovia,  and  especially  to  lease  lands 
in  the  manner  he  should  find  most  advan- 
tageous. 

In  pursuance  of  these  instructions 
Marshall  visited  Wachovia  in  the  fall  of 
1764,  being  present  in  February,  1765, 
when  the  site  for  Salem  was  chosen ; 
then  returned  to  Europe,  where  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  him  to  become  a 
resident  of  Salem.  An  order  from  "  the 
Lord  Advocate  of  Unitas  Fratrum,  Henry 
XXYIII  (Henry  XXYIII  Keuss,  Count 
and  Lord  of  Plan  en),  Abraham  v.  Gers- 
dorif,  Chancellor  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum-, 
and  Cornelius  v.  Laar,  Agent",  to  James 
Hutton,    authorized   him   ''to   empower 


30  HISTORY    OF 

Frederic  Marshall  for  to  sell  etc.,  parcel 
or  parcels  of  Wachovia  ;  "  and  a  second 
Power  of  Attorney  from  James  Hut  ton 
to  Marshall,  dated  October  9th,  1767, 
permitted  him  to  sell,  convey,  etc.,  lands 
in  AVachovia,  '•  reserving  thereout  never- 
theless to  James  Oharlesworth,  of  Piid- 
sey,  County  of  York,  Great  Britain  "••"  - 
the  Usual  Quit  Rents  "  "  reserved 
by  grants  ^  "'  to  Granville,  which 
since  the  said  Earl's  death,  have  been 
purchased  by  the  said  James  Charles- 
worth,  of  Robert  Earl  Granville,  his  late 
Lordship's  onl}^  son  and  heir."  In  1768, 
therefore,  Marshall  returned  to  Salem, 
as  the  "Administrator"  of  the  Unity. 
Each  Congregation  also  had  its  "  War- 
den "  to  attend  to  its  secular  affairs,  and 
each  leased  from  the  Unity  such  lands  as 
it  needed,  subleasing  them  in  turn  to  its 
individual  members.  Thus  in  1712theSa- 
lem  Land\\2i?>  measured, and  found  to  con- 
tain 3,1591  acres,  of  which  82i  acres  on 
the  northwest  corner  were  returned  to 
the  Unity  in   1786,  leaving  3,077^  acres, 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  31 

paying  £69:5:5   rent  to  the  Administra- 
tion. 

In  1771  Wachovia  was  removed  from 
the  care  of  the  Chiircli  at  Bethlehem, 
Fa.,  and  was  constituted  as  the  Southern 
Province  of  the  Moravian  Church,  with 
full  powers  for  local  government. 

For  two  years  previous  to  1773  the 
Wachovia  Tract  lay  half  in  Surry  and 
half  in  Fowan  County.  This  the  inhab- 
itants found  very  inconvenient,  since 
their  interests  were  all  one,  and  a  special 
Act  had  made  them  one  Farish,  Dohls^ 
although  the  Farish  lines  usually  coin- 
cided with  the  county  lines;  the  Legis- 
lature meeting  in  March  of  that  year 
therefore  passed  an  Act  changing  the 
Surry  line  so  that  it  began 

"  at  a  point  in  the  line  dividing  Rowan  and 
Guilford  Counties,  thirty-six  miles  from  the 
southeast  corner  of  Rowan,  thence  running  a 
due  west  course,  to  the  ridge  dividing  the 
waters  of  the  Yadkin  and  Catawba  rivers, 
Avhich  line  is  to  be  parallel  to  Earl  Granville's 
south  boundary  line  (excepting  where  the 
bounds  of  the  Parish  of  Dobbs  interfere,  which 


32  HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUNTY. 

Parish  is  hereby  intended  and  declared  to  be 
included  in  Surry  county)." 

There  is  a  discrepancy  of  six  miles  in 
the  distance  of  the  Surry  line  from  Earl 
Granville's  line,  as  given  by  the  Acts  of 
1770  and  1773,  which  is  due  either  to  a 
use  of  statute  miles  in  the  one  instance 
and  geographical  miles  in  the  other,  or 
to  an  inaccuracy  in  the  survey.  The 
line  itself  was  changed  only  at  the  bound- 
ary of  Dobbs  Parish,  where  it  took  the 
many-angled  course  which  still  marks 
the  southern  limit  of  Forsyth  County. 


CHAPTER  III. 


WACHOVIA  AND   THE   REVOLUTION- 
ARY WAR. 

In  1775,  Frederick  William  Marshall 
went  to  Europe,  to  attend  a  General 
Synod  of  the  Church,  held  at  Barby, 
Saxony,  and  was  detained  abroad  for 
four  years,  on  account  of  the  Eevolu- 
tionary  War,  which  broke  out  in  1776. 

The  following  years  were  very  trying 
for  the  Brethren,  who,  bereft  of  the 
counsels  of  their  able  leader,  were  at  a 
loss  how  to  conduct  thenis-lves  in  the 
changing  conditions  of  the  time.  Before 
his  departure,  already,  the  trouble  had 
begun,  for  as  they  refused  to  espouse  the 
cause  either  of  Regulator  or  of  royal 
Governor,  both  parties  regarded  them 
with  suspicion,  and  they  were  several 
times  called  to  account  for  rendering 
3 


34  HISTORY    OF 

secret  aid  to  the  Tories.  But  eacli  inves- 
tigation proved  tlieni  innocent  of  any 
departure  from  their  claimed  neutrality, 
and  throughout  the  war  they  refrained, 
for  conscience'  sake,  from  bearing  arms. 
In  November,  1777,  the  Legislature, 
in  session  at  Xewbern,  passed  the  so- 
called  "Confiscation  x\ct,"  which  decreed 
that — 

"  All  the  lands  -  ^  and  movable  property 
within  this  State  *  ^'  to  which  any  person 
had  title  on  the  fourth  day  of  July  in  the  year 
177G,  and  who  on  said  day  was  absent  from 
this  State,  and  every  part  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  is  still  absent  from  the  same,  *  * 
shall,  and  are  hereby  declared  to  be  confiscated 
to  the  use  of  this  State  ;  unless  such  person 
shall,  at  the  next  general  assembly  which 
shall  be  held  after  the  first  day  of  October  in 
the  year  1778,  appear,  and  be,  by  the  said 
assembly,  admitted  to  the  privilege  of  a  citi- 
zen of  this  State,''  etc. 

With  these  conditions  the  ih'ethren 
were  unable  to  comply,  for,  although 
James  Hutton,  on  October  28th,  1778, 
transferred  the  title  to  Frederick  Mar- 
shall (who  was  a  citizen  of  North  Caro- 
lina), and   appointed  Ilev.  John  ]\[ichael 


FORSYTH    COUNTY 


35 


Graff,  Jacob   Blum,  Esq.,  and   Traugott 
Bagge  his  attorneys  to  attend  to  making 
tlie  transfer  secure  in  America,  yet  Mar- 
shall still  remained  abroad.     The  older 
and    more     influential     members    were, 
moreover,  unwilling  to  take  the  oath   of 
alle2:iance  to  the  new  government  and 
abiure  King  George,  although  many   of 
the    younger  men   did   so.      One  of   the 
Brethren  was  sent  to  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  to 
consult  with  the  Church  there,  but  they 
were   in    the  same   dilemma,   and  could 
give  no  aid.     Many  people  believed  that 
the  Moravians   would  surely  be   driven 
out,  and  entered  various  parcels  of  their 
land,  including  the  towns  of  Salem   and 
Bethabara  and  the  two  mills,  rating  these 
more  valuable  portions  at  50  shillings. 
Continental  money,  for  100. acres. 

The  session  of  the  Legislature  which 
ended  in  January,  1779,  passed  an  Act 
stating  that — 

''Whereas,  many  persons  who  come  within 
the  deseriptioriS  of  the  aforesaid  act  (Confis- 
cation Act,  1777)  *  "  have  failed  or  neglected 
to  appear  before  the  general  Assembly  during 


36  HISTORY    OF 

the  i^resent  session.  *  -  Be  it  therefore 
enacted,  That  all  the  lands  *  *  of  every 
person  and  persons  who  come  within  the 
descriptions  of  the  aforesaid  act  *  *  shall 
be  forfeited  to  the  State,''  etc. 

This  made  matters  still  worse  for  the 
Brethren,  and  gave  them  no  choice  as  to 
their  future  attitude  toward  the  new 
government.  Many  of  the  Brethren 
opposed  the  taking  of  an  oath  under  any 
circumstances,  but  this  objection  was 
met  by  the  same  Legislature  in  "  An  act 
to  prescribe  the  Affirmation  of  Allegi- 
ance and  Fidelity  to  this  State  to  be 
taken  by  the  Unitas  Fratrnm  or  Mora- 
vians, Menonites,  and  Dunkards,  and 
granting  them  certain  indulgencies 
therein  mentioned  and  othei  Purposes." 
The  Act  read  as  follows  : 

"  In  order  to  quiet  the  Consciences  and 
indulge  the  religrious  Scruples  of  the  Sects 
called  the  Unitas  Fratrnm  or  Moravians, Quak- 
ers, Menonites,  and  Dunkards;  Be  it  enacted^ 
etc..  That  the  Affirmation  of  Allegiance  and. 
Fidelity  to  this  State,  shall  hereafter  be  taken 
by  all  the  above  People  in  the  Form  follow- 
ing: [Then  follows  the  form.]  Which  said 
Affirmation  being  taken  before  any  Justice  of 


FORSYTH    COUNTY. 


37 


the  Peace  in  the  County  where  they  reside,  at 
or  before  the  first  day  of  May  next,  shall  enti- 
tle them  to  all  those  Rights,  Privileges  and 
Immunities  they  heretofore  respectively 
enjoyed,  any  law  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing, the  Assessment  and  payment  of 
Taxes  only  accepted.'' 

All   the  Brethren,  therefore,  who  had 
not   vet  taken   the  Test   Oath,  now  sol- 
emnly affiT77ied  their  fealty  to  the  United 
States,  and  their  trouble  was  settled  for 
a  time.     In   the  Fall  of  the  year  Fred- 
erick William   Marshall    returned   from 
Europe,  and  was  followed  in  the  Spring 
of  17S0  by  Bishop  J.   F.   Reichel,    who 
came  as  the  representative  of  the  Gen- 
eral Board   of  the  Unitas  Fratrom,  and, 
under   the   direction    of   these    two,   the 
Brethren  fell  into  harmony  with  the  new 
order  of  things  in  their  adopted  country. 
In  February,  1781,  the  British  Army, 
under    Lord    Cornwallis,    traversed    the 
county,   camping    near    Bethabara     and 
passing  through   Salem,  but  committing 
no  serious  depredations. 

A  more  welcome  guest  came  ten  years 
later,  when  George  Washington,  the  first 


38  HISTORY    OF 

President  of  the  United  States,  spent  a 
day  ill  Salem  on  his  way  to  yisit  Gov. 
Martin.  He  passed  the  time  inspecting 
the  various  establishments  of  the  Breth- 
ren, visited  the  Brothers'  and  Sisters' 
Houses,  and  was  especially  pleased  with 
the  AYater-works.  In  the  evening  *'  six 
Brethren  dined  with  him,  and  at  night 
the  President,  his  Secretary,  and  Gov. 
Martin  of  North  Carolina,  wdio  had  come 
to  meet  him,  attended  the  singing  meet- 
ing to  their  great  edification." 

In  November,  1781,  sixty-three  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly,  with  Governor 
Alexander  Martin,  met  in  Salem,  but 
failed  to  hold  their  session  through  lack 
of  a  quorum.  The  visit  was  repeated  in 
January,  17S2,  and  was  of  much  value 
to  the  Brethren,  as  tlirough  its  represen- 
tatives the  State  learned  to  know  and 
better  understand  their  real  intentions, 
and  the  more  readily  decided  in  their 
favor  the  disputed  title  to  the  Wachovia 
Tract. 

Although  the  Brethren  had  been  unmo- 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  39 

lested  since  taking  the  Affirmation  of 
Allegiance  to  the  American  Government, 
many  persons  contended  that  Frederick 
William  Marshall  had  no  legal  right  to 
the  title,  since  through  the  Confiscation 
Act  James  Hntton,  an  alien,  had  lost  all 
claim  to  it  Ijefore  going  through  the  form 
of  transferring  it  to  Marshall.  Bnt  when 
the  deeds  were  first  made  to  Hntton, 
Count  Zinzendorf  had  insisted  upon  the 
insertion  of  the  clanse  "in  trust  for  the 
Unitas  Fratrum,"  and  while  the  nominal 
owner  had  not  been  a  citizen  of  Carolina 
when  he  transferred  the  title,  those  for 
whom  he  held  the  land  "in  trust"  had 
been  resident  in  the  State  for  many  years, 
and  could  not  justly  be  dispossessed. 
The  Legislature,  therefore,  relinquishing 
any  claim  it  might  have  had,  passed  an 
Act  on  April  13th,  1782,  "To  vest  in 
Frederick  William  Marshall,  Esquire,  of 
Salem,  in  Surry  County,  all  the  lands  of 
the  Unitas  Fratrum,  in  this  state,  for  the 
use  of  the  United  Brethren." 


CHAPTER  lY. 


THE   TITLE   TO  WACHOVIA. 

The  Act,  vesting  the  title  to  the  lands 
of  the  Unitas  Fratnim  (in  N.  C.)  in 
Fred.  Wm.  Marshall,  read  as  follows: 

"1.  Whereas,  Frederick  William  Marshall, 
esquire,  of  Salem  in  Surry  county,  hath  made 
it  appear  to  this  General  Assembly  that  all 
the  tracts  of  land  in  this  state  belonging  to 
the  lord  advocate,  the  chancellor  and  the 
agent  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum,  or  united  l)reth- 
ren,  have  been  transferred  to  him  from  the 
former  possessors,  in  trust  for  the  Unitas  Fra- 
trum, or  united  brethren;  and  Avhereas  doubts 
have  arisen  whether  the  said  tracts  do  not 
come  within  the  description  of  the  confiscation 
act;  and  to  quiet  the  minds  of  those  to  whom 
conveyances  have  been,  or  are  to  be  made,  of 
any  part  or  parts  thereof;  II.  Be  it  therefore 
enacted,  by  the  General  Assemhly  of  the  state 
of  North  Carolina,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by 
authority  of  the  same,  t\\Rt  a  certain  deed  of 
lease  and  release,  dated  the  twenty-seventh 
and  twenty  eighth  of  October,  one  thousand 


HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUNTY.  41 

seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  from  James 
HuttoD,  conveying  the  tract  of  Wachovia,  in 
Surry  county,  to  said  Frederick  William  Mar- 
shall, be  hereby  declared  valid  in  law,  and  to 
be  admitted  to  probate  in  the  county  of  Surry, 
and  registered  in  the  register's  office  thereof, 
agreeable  to  the  testimonials  thereunto  apper- 
taining: and  that  all  lands  which  by  deed  of 
bargain  and  sale  of  the  twentieth  of  April,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four, 
between  William  Churton  and  Charles  Met- 
calf,  registered  in  the  county  of  Orange  in 
book  number  one,  page  one  hundred  and  six, 
and  in  Rowan  county,  in  book  E,  number  five, 
page  four  hundred  and  fifty-two,  &:c.,  were 
then  conveyed  to  said  Charges  Metcalf,  be 
hereby  vested  in  the  said  Frederick  William 
Marshall  in  trust  as  aforesaid;  and  all  convey- 
ances of  the  above  mentioned  lands,  or  any  of 
them,  made,  or  which  shall  be  made  by  the 
said  Frederick  William  Marshall,  shall  be  as 
good  and  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as 
if  the  confi^ cation  act  had  never  passed. 

III.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  author- 
ity aforesaid,  that  the  power  of  Attorney  of 
Christian  Frederick  Cossart,  dated  the  third 
of  November,  one  thousand  seven  hundied 
and  seventy-two,  empowering  said  Frederick 
William  Marshall  to  sell  his  lands,  be  admitted 
to  probate  and  registry  in  the  county  of 
Wilkes,  and  be  as  good  and  valid  in  law  as  it 
could  or  might  have  been,  had  the  act  of  con- 
fiscation never  passed." 


42  HISTORY    OF 

The  "Wacliovia  Tract''  referred  to  in 
tliis  Act,  was,  of  course,  that  purchased 
from  Lord  Granville  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Moravian  settlement  in  Carolina. 

The  "Metcalf  Lands"  consisted  of 
between  eleven  and  twelve  thousand 
acres,  granted  by  Earl  Granville  to  Wm. 
Churton,  his  snrs'eyor-general,  on  Jan. 
5th,  1762,  and  surveyed  in  twenty  tracts 
by  Churton  himself,  Jacob  Lash  of  Wa- 
chovia, and  Thos.  Cliild  of  Stiflolk,  Ya. 

On  April  20th,  1764,  Wm.  Churton 
sold  these  tracts  to  Charles  Metcalf,  the 
deed  mentioning  20£  (consideration. 
Charles  Metcalf,  in  turn,  sold  lots  18, 19 
and  20  to  his  sister  Mary.  February  6, 
1772,  Chas.  Metcalf  sent  a  Power  of 
Attorney  to  F.  W.  Marshall  to  sell  his 
land,  and  on  Jan.  14,  1773,  ^'Mary  Met- 
calf of  Chelsea  in  the  county  of  Middle- 
sex," gave  similar  authority  to  ^Marshall 
concerning  her  share.  Marshall  decided 
to  buy  the  lands  for  the  Unitas  Fratrum, 
and  therefore,  on  October  21st,  1778, 
Power  of  Attorney  was  sent  by  Metcalf 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  43 

and  his  sister  to  Kev.  Michael  Graff, 
Jacob  Bonn  and  Traugott  Bagge  to  sell 
the  17  tracts  for  200£.  and  the  3  tracts 
for  50£. 

The  20  Metcalf  tracts  were  not 
together  like  the  Wachovia  Tract,  but 
were  scattered  along  the  water- courses  in 
what  were  then  Kowan  and  Orange 
Counties.  Several  formed  the  Blanket 
Bottom  tract,  on  the  creek  of  that  name; 
others  were  on  the  branches  of  Abbott's 
Creek,  Muddy  Creek,  etc.,  and  still 
others  in  what  are  now  Person  and  Cas- 
well Counties. 

During  all  these  years  the  Unity  had 
been  steadily  paying  an  annual  quit-rent 
to  the  heir  of  Lord  Granville  and  those 
to  whom  he  afterward  sold  it.  In  1788 
the  Rev.  Wm.  Home,  "late  of  Dublin 
but  now  of  Ballondary  in  the  County  of 
Antrim  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,"  was 
"Lord  of  the  Fee,"  and  from  him,  on  May 
5th,  F.  AV.  Marshall  bought  for  5  shillings, 
"all  and  every  of  19  several  and  distinct 
annual    Rents    stipulated  provided   reserved 


44  HISTORY    OF 

and  mentioned  in  and  by  19  several  Indentures 
or  Grants  *  *  made  between  John  Earl 
Granville  of  the  one  part  and  James  Button 
of  the  other  part,  *  *  making  in  the  whole 
the  Annual  Sum  of  £148:9:2^  Sterling  Money  of 
Great  Britain."^ 

This  was  onlj  a  legal  preliminary  to 
the  transaction  of  the  following  day, 
May  6th,  when  Marshall,  as  agent  for 
the  Unitas  Fratrnm,  received  the  fee 
simple  title  to  the  Wachovia  Tract,  pay- 
ing £1,000  for  it.  Rev.  Daniel  Koehler, 
Rev.  Christian  Benzien,  and  Traugott 
Bagge  were  appointed  by  Home  as  his 
attorneys  to  have  the  deed  registered  in 
North  Carolina. 

The  actual  purchase  price  of  AVachovia 
may  therefore  be  estimated  thus: 

Purchase  money £  500:       $  2,420  00 

4  per  cent,  interest.  4  yrs,  £     80:  387  20 

Quit-rent,  35  years, £5192:2:3    25,129  82 

Purchase  of  Title, £1000:  4,840  00 

£6772:2:3     $32,777  02 

On    Feb.   11th,  1802,  F.  AV.  Marshall 

died,  and    by  his    will   Christian    Lewis 

Benzien    became  "Proprietor,"  holding 

the  title  to  the  lands  of  the  Unitas  Fra- 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  45 

triim  in  N.  C.  Sometimes  the  "Proprie- 
tor" also  held  tlie  position  of  "Adminis- 
trator," or  agent  of  the  Unity  in  the 
management  of  its  local  business  affairs, 
at  otlier  times  the  offices  were  separate. 
The  Proprietors  of  the  Wachovia  Tract, 
etc.,  were  : 

1.  James  Hntton,  of  London,  Aug.  7th, 

1753_Oct.  2Sth.  1778; 

Title  transferred  by  deed  to 

2.  Frederick  William  Marshall,  of  Salem, 

K  C,  1778— Feb.  11th,  1802  ; 
Transferred  by  will  to 

3.  Christian    Lewis   Benzien,   of  Salem, 

1802— November  13th,  1811  ; 
Transferred  by  will  to 

4.  John  Gebhard  Cimow,  of  Bethlehem, 

Pa.,  1811— March  28,  1822; 
Transferred  by  deed  to 

5.  Lewis  David  von  Schweinitz,  of  Beth- 

lehem,   Pa.,   1822  —  February   8th, 
1834; 

Transferred  by  will  to 

6.  William  Henry   Van   Yleck,  of  New 

York  City,  1834— August  7th,  1844; 
Transferred  by  deed  to 


46  HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUNTY. 

T.   Charles   F.   Kliigc,  of  Salem,  N.   C, 
184-4— April  19th,  1S53; 
Transferred  by  deed  to 

8.  Emil    A.    de    Schweinitz,    of    Salem, 

1853 — December  1st,  1877  : 
Transferred  by  deed  to 

9.  The  Board  of  Provincial  Elders  of  the 

Southern  Province  of  the  Moravian 
Chnrch. 
The    Administrators  of  the   Southern 
Province  during  the  same  years  were: 

1.  Frederick   William   Marshall,  1763— 
1802; 

2.  Christian  Lewis  Benzien,  1802—1811; 

3.  Lewis  David   von  Schweinitz,  1812 — 
1821  ; 

4.  Theodore  Shultz,  1821—1844  : 

5.  Charles  F.  Kluge,  1844—1853  ; 

6.  Emil  A.  de  Schweinitz,  1853—1877. 
The   transfer  of  title  to   the  Board   of 

Provincial  Elders  was  accompanied  by 
an  actual  purchase  of  the-  property 
involved,  and  by  it  both  the  Proprietor- 
ship and  the  Administration  came  to  an 
end. 


CHAPTER  Y. 


KERNERSVILLE,     FRIEDBERG,     FRIED- 
LAND,  HOPE. 

About  the  time  that  Salem  was  estab- 
lished in  the  centre  of  the  Wachovia 
Tract,  several  other  towns  sprang  up 
near  the  borders  of  what  waste  be  Forsyth 
County. 

Kernersville,  the  largest  of  these,  was 
not  originally  laid  out  as  a  town,  but  grew 
gradually  to  such  a  size.  About  1756  or 
1760,  Caleb  Story,  a  native  of  Ireland, 
bought  400  acres  of  land,  about  12  miles 
east  of  Salem,  near  the  Guilford  County 
line.  Tradition  says  he  paid  for  it  with 
4  gallons  of  rum.  This  tract  he  sold  to 
a  certain  Dobson,  and  from  this  the  place 
came  to  be  called  '^Dohson^s  Cross 
Boads^'^^  a  name  it  retained  for  many 
years. 


48  HISTORY    OF 

Mr.  Dobson  sold  the  400  acres  to  Gott- 
lieb Shober,  of  Salem,  who  sold  it,  in 
1817,  to  Joseph  Kerner,  a  German  by 
birth,  but  then  living  near  Friedland. 
During  the  succeeding  years  Kerner 
bought  more  land  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  at  his  death,  in  1830,  left  1100  acres 
to  be  divided  between  his  three  heirs. 
Of  these,  John  F.  received  the  portion  to 
the  west  of  what  is  now  Main  Street; 
Phillip  took  the  homestead,  and  the  land 
to  the  east,  and  the  daughter,  Salome, 
who  had  married  Appolis  Harmon,  had 
a  share  to  the  south.  In  the  course  of 
time,  a  thriving  town  grew  up,  some  of 
the  land  being  sold  to  new  settlers,  the 
rest  remaining  with  the  branches  of  the 
Kerner  family;  and,  in  1869,  Kerners- 
ville  was  incorporated,  and  Joseph  Arm- 
field  was  elected  the  first  Mayor. 

Friedberg,  on  the  lower  edge  of  the 
county,  had  a  similar  small  beginning. 
In  August,  1751:,  Adam  Spach,  a  native 
of  Pfaffenheim,  Alsace,  settled  about 
three  miles  south  of  the  Wachovia  line. 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  49 

He  speedily  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  Moravians,  taking  refuge  at  Betha- 
bara  during  the  Indian  War,  and  after 
wards  urging  the  Brethren  to  come  and 
hold  services  at  his  home.  This  was 
done,  at  intervals,  until  1766,  and  mean- 
while several  families  from  Pennsyl- 
vania had  settled  in  the  neighborhood. 

Then  the  church  authorities  at  Salem 
set  apart  some  34  acres  near  the  southern 
boundary  of  Wachovia  for  the  use  of  the 
new  congregation,  adding  to  them  77 
acres,  across  the  line,  bought  from  Adam 
Spach.  Part  of  the  77  acres  was  after- 
wards sold  or  exchanged,  tut  the  Fried- 
berg  Church  Land  is  still  divided  by  the 
county  line. 

In  1773,  about  81  acres  in  the  neigh- 
borhood were  purchased  for  the  purpose 
of  building  a  schoolhouse  thereon;  this 
tract  was  resold  at  a  later  time. 

The  first  meeting-house  of  the  Fried- 
berg  Congregation  was  consecrated  on 
March  11th,  1769  ;  Kev.  L.  G.  Bachoif 
becoming  their  first  resident  minister  on 


50  HISTORY    OF 

February  IStb,  1770.  In  Jan  nary,  1772, 
"  the  Friedberg  Congregation  of  the 
Unitas  Fratriim "  was  formally  estab- 
lished;  and  on  February  10th,  1786,  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  for  a  larger  church, 
which  was  consecrated  May  12th,  1788, 
and  served  until  1827,  when  the  present 
church  was  built. 

The  settlement  at  Friedland.  near  the 
eastern  line  of  the  Wachovia  survey,  was 
begun  in  a  different  manner. 

In  1769  six  German  families  arrived 
in  Wachovia.  They  were  part  of  a  com- 
pany of  emigrants  from  the  Palatinate 
and  Wurtemburg,  who,  about  1738,  had 
settled  near  Broad  Bay,  in  Maine.  There 
they  became  acquainted  with  one  of  the 
Moravian  Brethren,  and  wished  to  estab- 
lish a  congregation,  but  there  were  legal 
difficulties  concerning  their  title  deeds, 
so  they  resolved  to  move  to  North  Caro- 
lina. Having  been  shipwrecked  on  the 
coast  of  Virginia,  they  came  by  way  of 
Wilmington,  and  arrived  in  Wachovia, 
poor,  wayworn,  and  many  of  them  in  ill 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  51 

health.  They  were  given  temporary 
homes  in  Bethabara  and  Salem,  and  the 
next  year  were  joined  by  eight  more 
families.  As  they  did  not  wish  to  remain 
in  Salem,  1,800  acres  of  the  Unity's  land 
were  sold  to  them,  the  Administration 
reserving  30  acres  in  the  center  of  the 
tract  for  a  church  and  school-honse.  In 
February,  1772,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
church  was  laid,  the  building  was  con- 
secrated on  February  18th,  1775,  with 
Eev.  Tycho  Nissen  as  the  first  pastor, 
and  the  "  Friendland  Congregation  " 
was  formally  recognized  in  September, 
1780. 

The  first  English  congregation  in  Wa- 
chovia w^as  Hope^  in  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  tract.  Several  settlers  in 
that  quarter  had  enjoyed  the  protection 
of  the  "  Dutch  Fort  "  during  the  Indian 
War,  and  had  afterward  joined  the  con- 
gregation at  Friedberg ;  but  that  was 
purely  German,  and  they  desired  an 
English-speaking  church  of  their  own. 
Meetinirs  had  been  held  for  them  as  earlv 


62  HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUNTY. 

as  1758;  and  in  1775 — several  English 
families  from  Carrol's  Manor,  Maryland, 
and  elsewhere,  having  located  in  that 
section  of  Wachovia — a  church  was 
begun,  which  was  consecrated  March 
28th,  1780 ;  and  Eev.  John  Christian 
Fritz  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  little 
company  which  was,  on  the  28th  of  Au- 
gust, fully  constituted  a  congregation  of 
the  Brethren's  Church.  The  burial 
ground  was  laid  out  during  the  same 
year. 


CHAPTER  YI. 


THE  COURT  HOUSE  TRACT. 

In  January,  1849,  as  has  been  already 
stated,  the  Legislature  of  [N'ortli  Caro- 
lina divided  the  County  of  Stokes  into 
two  parts,  Stokes  and  Forsyth^  and 
appointed  five  Commissioners  for  each  of 
the  counties.  The  first  duty  of  these 
Commissioners  was  to  select  and  pur- 
chase the  site  for  the  Court  House  and 
other  public  buildings.  This  created  a 
great  deal  of  discussion,  for  as  Salem  lay 
almost  in  the  center  of  Forsyth,  it 
seemed  necessary  to  choose  land  in  that 
neighborhood  for  the  county  town. 

The  Commissioners  applied  to  the 
Aicfseher  Collegium  of  the  Salem  Con- 
gregation for  some  31  acres  of  land,  north 
of  the  town,  but  they  refused  to  decide 
so  weighty  a  question,  and   referred  the 


54  HISTORY    OF 

matter  to  the  Gemeinrath,  or  Congrega- 
tion Council.  Then  the  debate  waxed 
warm.  A  new  town  would  spring  up, 
new  settlers  would  come  in,  their  views 
would  conflict  with  those  of  the  Breth- 
ren, Moravian  rules  and  ways  would  be 
disturbed,  perhaps  destroyed — so  said 
the  conservative  element,  and  wished  to 
keep  the  Court  House  as  far  away  as 
possible ;  while  the  progressive  party 
thought  the  new  settlers  would  give  new 
life  to  the  community,  and  that,  if  the 
new  town  was  brought  near  Salem,  the 
disturbing  features  would  adjust  them- 
selves. 

The  Congregation  Council,  held  Feb- 
ruary 5th,  18^9,  agreed  to  sell  31  acres 
to  the  Commissioners,  the  southern  line  to 
come  no  nearer  Salem  than  the  northern 
side  of  the  lot  held  under  lease  by  Mr. 
Thos.  J.Wilson  [now  the  Hanes  House]. 
In  March,  further  conditions  were  made 
that  the  Court  House  should  be  in  the 
centre  of  the  tract,  and  the  new  streets 
should    be    continuations     of    those    in 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  55 

Salem  ;  and  the  price  was  fixed  at  85.00 
an  acre,  the  same  amount  that  the  Ad- 
ministrator was  getting  for  land  sold  in 
the  virginity.  The  Congregation  Council 
met  again  on  the  10th  of  April,  and  by  a 
vote  of  59  to  9  authorized  the  Aufseher 
Collegium  to  sell  50  or  51  acres  to  the 
Commissioners,  the  line  to  be  moved  far- 
ther south  [to  the  present  line],  and 
therefore  nearer  Salem. 

The  Commissioners  were  requested  to 
build  the  Court  House  on  a  knoll  a  little 
north  of  Mr.  Wilson's,  and  agreed  to  do 
so,  and  the  plan  for  the  future  town  was 
decided  upon.  The  minority  then  with- 
drew their  objections,  and  the  vote  of 
the  Council  was  made  unanimous.  On 
the  12th  of  May,  181:9,  Charles  F.  Kluge, 
Proprietor  and  Administrator,  gave  a 
deed  for  51  i  acres  of  Salem  Land  to  the 
Commissioners  of  Forsyth  County. 

The  deed  to  the  land  for  the  Forsyth 
Court  House  read  as  follows  : 

"Whereas  the  General  Assembly  of  N.  C. 
did  at  its  last  Session  pass  an  act  to  divide  the 
County  of  Stokes  into  two  distinct  Counties, 


56  HISTORY    OF 

and  another  supplemental  thereto,  and  in  said 
Act  appoint  5  Commissioners  to  select  a  site 
for  the  erection  of  the  public  buildings  of  For- 
sythe  Co.  purchase  laud  for  the  purpose,  lay 
off  and  sell  town  lots  and  so  forth;  and  whereas 
said  Commissioners  have  applied  to  me  Charles 
F.  Kluge  of  the  County  of  Forsythe  and  State 
of  N.  C.  for  a  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  town 
of  Salem,  on  which  to  erect  said  buildings,  I 
have  agreed  to  sell  to  them,  or  as  the  said  Act 
requires  to  the  Chairman  of  the  County  Court, 
the  desired  tra^.t  of  land  on  the  following  con- 
ditions ;  to  wit :  that  said  Chairman  as  soon 
as  required  to  do  so  by  the  parties  interested 
do  make  a  deed  in  fee  to  the  School  Commit- 
tee of  the  district  including  the  town  of  Salem, 
for  the  lot  on  which  the  public  schoolhouse 
now  stands  and  marked  No.  1  on  the  appended 
plot,  which  lot  is  to  be  used  as  a  public  school 
lot ,  and  further  do  make  a  deed  in  fee  simple 
to  Thos.  J.  Wilson  for  the  lot  on  which  he 
now  lives,  being  lot  ^o.  45  on  the  appended 
plot,  said  Wilson  paying  a  reasoi  able  and 
moderate  price  for  the  same,  which  is  to  be 
paid  one  half  to  said  Chairman  and  one  half 
to  me  Charles  F.  Kluge.     Therefore 

"  This  Indenture  witnesseth  that  I  Charles 
F.  Kluge  of  said  County  and  State  have  bar- 
gained and  sold,  and  by  these  presents  do  bar- 
gain and  sell  in  consideration  of  the  above 
agreement  and  further  in  consideration  of  the 
Sum  of  Two  hundred  and  fifty-six  and  one 
quarter  Dollars  secured  to  me  this  day  by  a 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  57 

bond  given  by  Fr.  Fries  Chairman  of  the 
County  Court  of  Forsythe  Co.  unto  said  Fran- 
cis Fries  Chairman  as  aforesaid  and  his  suc- 
cessors forever,  all  that  tract  or  parcel  of  land 
situate  lying  and  being  in  the  Co.  of  Forsythe 
State  of  N.  C.  and  adjoining  the  town  of  Sa- 
lem or  rather  being  a  part  thereof.  Beginning 
at  a  Stake  the  South  East  Corner  of  said  tracts 
running  2s^orth  10°  West  41  poles  and  21  links 
to  a  Stake,  thence  North  8i°  West  110  poles 
and  9  links  to  a  Stone,  thence  South  8U°  West 
13  poles  and  20  links  to  a  Stone,  thence  North 
8*°  West  28  poles  and  10  links  to  a  Stake  in  the 
Salem  town  line,  thence  along  said  line  South 
88°  West  33  poles  and  5  links  to  a  Stake  in  V. 
Zevely's  line,  thence  South  8i°  East  143  poles 
and  20  links  to  a  Stake,  South  10°  East  41  poles 
and  21  links  to  a  Stake,  thence  North  80°  East 
47  poles  and  4  links  to  the  Beginning.  Con- 
taining 51i  acres,  more  or  less. 

"  To  have  and  to  hold  unto  the  said  Francis 
Fries  Chairman  as  aforesaid  and  his  Succes- 
sors for  the  purposes  herein  before  stated  and 
as  set  forth  in  the  Act  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly as  first  above  mentioned.    . 

"And  I  do  further  promise  forever  to  war- 
rent  and  defend  the  title  of  the  above  tract  of 
land  unto  the  said  F.  Fries  Chairman  as  afore- 
said and  his  Successors  against  the  Claim  or 
Claims  of  all  and  every  other  person  or  per- 
sons whatsoever. 

"In  witness  whereof  I  Charles  F.  Kluge  do 


58  HISTORY    OF 

hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affix  my  Seal  this 
twelfth  day  of  May  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
One  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-nine. 
Charles  F.  Kluge.*' 

F.  C.  Meixuxg. 

S.  Thos.  Pfohl. 

Although  the  deed  to  the  Forsyth 
Commissioners  was  made  by  Charles  F. 
Klnge,  the  Administrator  of  the  Unity, 
the  land  was  really  owned  by  the  Salem 
Congregation.  *'  In  1771  Salem  Congre- 
gation Diacony^  or  that  financial  Insti- 
tution, from  the  proceeds  of  which  the 
congregation  at  Salem  was  to  be  main- 
tained as  a  Moravian  cons^rco-atioii,  was 
established.  The  Diacony  assumed  all 
the  liabilities  incurred  in  the  erection  of 
buildings  in  Salem,  and  a  tract  of  land 
originally  containing  3,159  Acres  was 
granted  to  it,  under  lease,  for  a  fixed 
annual  rent."  At  firFt  this  annual  rent 
was  £69:5:5,  equal  to  8335.26,  about 
10?c  per  acre,  but  some  of  the  land  was 
sold,  and  the  annual  rent  decreased,  and 
in  1826  the  Salem  Diacony  held  2,4S5 
acres,  paying  Sl43.77j,  or  about  6c.  per 
acre. 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  59 

In  1S26  this  lease  was  determined,  and 
the  tract  was  sold  to  the  Salem  Congre- 
gation Diacony  for  $2,795. 62J,  or  $1.12^ 
per  acre.  This  amount  was  paid  off 
gradually,  the  last  payment  being  made 
in  April,  1849,  by  part  of  the  purchase 
money  of  the  Court  House  Tract.  But 
the  title  could  not  be  transferred  to  the 
Salem  Diacony  because  that  was  not  a 
corporate  body,  and  one  condition  of  the 
sale  was  that  "  the  legal  title  was  to 
remain  in  the  Proprietor."  Therefore 
the  deed  to  the  Court  House  Tract  was 
given  by  Cbas.  F.  Kluge,  then  Proprietor 
of  Wachovia  as  well  as  Administrator. 

In  the  course  of  time  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  lease  system — under  which 
no  one  could  own,  and  only  members  of 
the  Moravian  Church  could  lease  houses 
in  Salem — was  no  longer  advantageous  ; 
and  as  the  purchase  of  the  ''Salem  Land" 
had  made  it  no  longer  a  necessity,  the 
Congregation  Council  of  I^ovember  ITth, 
1856,  abolished  it  as  the  unvarying  rule, 
although   members   who    desired    might 


60  HISTORY    OF 

continue  to  hold  tlieir  property  in  that 
manner. 

In  January,  1S74,  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  North  Carolina  enacted — 

"That  the  members  of  the  Congregation  of 
United  Bretliren,  commonly  called  Moravians, 
of  the  town  of  Salem  and  its  yieinity,  be,  and 
the  same  are  hereby  created  and  erected  into 
one  body  politic  and  corporate  in  deed  and  in 
law,  by  the  name,  style  and  title  of  '  The  Con- 
gregation of  United  Brethren  of  Salem  and 
its  vicinity  ;"  " 

and  on  July  10th,  1S74,  Emil  A.  de 
Scdnveinitz,  then  Proprietor,  tranferred 
to  it  the  fee  simple  title  to  the  remain- 
ing Salem  Land,  the  Church  and  Acad- 
emy property  alone  excepted. 

The  rest  of  the  Moravian  lands  in 
North  Carolina  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  Unity  for  several  years  more.  In 
1771  the  Wachovia  Sustentation  Diacony 
was  established.  While  the  Salem  Con- 
gregation Diacony  concerned  itself  with 
the  affairs  of  the  Salem  Congresjation, 
this  Diacony  cared  for  the  iinances  for 
the  general  work  of  the  Church  in  the 
Southern     Province.     During    the    sue- 


FORSYTH    COUNTY. 


61 


ceeding  years  the  proceeds  from  the  store 
at  Bethabara,  and  several  trades  carried 
on  there,  furnished  revenue  enough  ;  but 
as  expenses  increased,  even  with  the  aid 
of  contributions  from  various  sources,  the 
Wachovia  Sustentation  Diacony  found 
difficulty  in  raising  the  necessary  funds, 
and  finally  became  deeply  indebted  to 
the  Administrator  in  Wachovia.  This 
debt  was  canceled  by  returning  to  the 
Unity  certain  lands  which  had  been  set 
apart  for  this  Diacony. 

The    General    Synod,    which    met    in 
Herrnhut,  Germany,  in  1857,  decided  to 
divide  among  the  Provinces  certain  funds 
then  in  hand,  and  the  share  of  the  South- 
ern Province  put  the  Wachovia  Susten- 
tation Diacony  on  a  comfortable  footing 
again.      The  business  of   the  Wachovia 
Sustentation  Diacony  was  in  the  hands 
of  "  The  Board  of  Provincial  Elders  of 
the  Southern  Province  of  the  Moravian 
Church  or  Uiiitas  Fratrum,''  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1877,  this  Board  was  incorporated. 
In    December,    1877,    the    Provincial 


62  HISTORY    OF 

Elders'  Conference  purchased  from  the 
Unity  all  the  land  in  the  Southern  Prov- 
ince still  belonging  to  the  general  Board 
of  the  Unitas  Fratrum,  paying  for  it  the 
sum  of  843,472.57,  about  $12,000  cash 
down,  and  the  lest  in  annual  instalments, 
the  last  payment  being  made  in  Novem- 
ber, 1886.  The  deed  from  the  Unity  to 
the  Provincial  Elders'  Conference  was 
made  December  Ist,  1877. 

The  plan  for  the  new  Court  House 
Town,  as  suggested  by  the  Commission- 
ers and  approved  by  the  Salem  Congre- 
gation Council,  consisted  of  71  lots, 
exclusive  of  the  Court  House  Square. 
These  were  included  between  what  are 
now  known  as  Church  Street  and  Trade 
Street  (which  then  began  at  the  Salem 
line)  as  far  north  as  Sixth  Street,  and 
between  Main  and  Trade  Streets  to  Sev- 
enth Street. 

Of  these  lots,  as  already  stated,  Mr. 
Thos.  J.  Wilson  held  No.  45  under  lease 
from  the  Salem  Congregation,  and  No.  1 
was  reserved  for  the  Public  School ;  the 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  63 

rest  were  sold  at  auction,  the  first  sale 
being  held  May  12th,  1849.  The  terms 
offered  were :  '^  A  credit  of  one  and  two 
years,  the  purchaser  securing  the  amount 
of  his  bid  by  an  approved  bond,  and  title 
in  fee  simple  to  be  made  as  soon  as  the 
purchase  money  shall  have  been  paid.'' 
The  first  purchaser  was  Robert  Gray, 
who  bought  Lot  No.  41  (the  Wachovia 
National  Bank  corner)  for  8165.00.  This 
was  the  highest  price  paid,  the  sums 
rano-ino;  from  this  to  $16.00  for  the  lot 
next  the  School  House.  All  the  lots 
south  of  Fourth  Street,  and  five  above  it, 
were  sold  at  this  time,  and  aggregated 
$6,712.25. 

June  22d,  1819,  a  second  sale  was 
made,  and  the  remaining  lots  were  sold 
at  prices  from  $35.00  to  $170.00,  five 
lots  being  reserved  for  thejail  and  other 
purposes,  so  that  with  one  or  two  addi- 
tional transactions  the  total  receipts 
from  the  sale  of  the  lots  were  $8,833.50. 
On  June  20th,  1849,  the  County  Court 
appropriated    $9,000.00   to  the  building 


64:  HISTORY    OF 

of  a  Court  House  and  Jail.  In  Septem- 
ber they  ordered  ^'  that  Thos.  J.  Wilson 
and  C.  L.  Banner  be  appointed  Commis- 
sioners to  have  the  streets  on  the  site  of 
the  new  Court  House  cleaned  out  on  the 
best  terms  they  can,  and  to  make  such 
contracts  and  regulations  for  the  same 
as  they  may  deem  to  the  best  interest  of 
Forsyth  Co.,"  and  in  December  Darius 
H.  Starbuck  was  added  to  the  Commit- 
tee. At  the  latter  term  there  were 
opened  as  Public  Highways  ''  one  road 
to  lead  from  the  location  of  the  Court 
House,  west,  to  intersect  the  Shallowford 
road  at  the  top  of  Atwood's  Hill,  not  far 
from  the  corner  of  Wm.  Fries'  field," 
and  ''  one  other  road  from  the  said  loca- 
tion of  the  Court  House  to  intersect  the 
Belew's  Creek  road  in  a  South  east  direc- 
tion from  said  location."  It  was  like- 
wise ordered  "that  the  new  Main  and 
Cross  streets  lately  laid  out  at  the  loca- 
tion of  the  Court  House  in  Salem,  be 
viewed  and  made  Public  Highways 
according  to  law." 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  65 

On  March  18th,  1850,  the  Commis- 
sioners appointed  by  the  Legislature  were 
authorized  to  "  proceed  to  take  into  their 
possession  the  bonds  and  debts  due  or 
hereafter  to  become  due  for  the  lots,  and 
pay  over  the  proceeds  to  those  with 
whom  they  may  have  contracted  in  the 
erection  of  the  Public  Buildings  and  for 
other  necessary  expenses." 

In  September  Thos.  J.  Wilson  and  F. 
L.  Gorrel  were  appointed  Commissioners 
*'  to  have  a  suitable  enclosure  put  around 
the  Couit  House,  200  feet  square,  and 
to  have  the  trees  in  said  Square  trimmed 
and  topped."  The  fence  was  to  be  made 
"  of  good  sawed  white  or  post  Oak  posts 
and  plank  4  or  5  inches  wide,  to  be 
dressed  and  nailed  to  the  posts  and 
painted,  provided  the  Committee  think 
that  they  can  have  the  work  done  at  a 
moderate  price." 

In  September,  181:9,  it  was  ordered  by 
the  Court  that  F.  C.  Meinung,  Michael 
Hauser  and  Matthew  Crowds,  who  had 
been  Wardens  of  the  Poor  for  Forsyth 
County  while  it  was  still  a  part  of  Stokes, 


66  HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH   COUNTY. 

Bhoiild  continue  to  act  in  that  capacity, 
and  should  associate  with  themselves  as 
many  others  as  the  law  required,  to  hold 
office  until  the  regular  election  in  March. 
In  December,  F.  C.  Meinung,  C.  L.  Ban- 
ner and  Michael  Hauser  were  appointed 
a  Committee  to  select  a  site  for  a  Poor 
House,  and  in  March,  1S50,  they  were 
empowered  to  buy  land  and  proceed  with 
the  building. 

The  tract  selected  contained  about  90 
acres,  lying  "  on  Waters  of  Brushy  Fork, 
Middle  Fork  of  Muddy  Creek,  and  on 
both  sides  of  the  road  leading  to  German- 
ton,"  and  was  about  three  and  a  half 
miles  northeast  of  the  Court  House.  On 
May  1st,  1850,  it  was  bought  for  8270.00 
from  Chas.  F.  Kluge,  the  Administrator 
of  the  Unity  in  Wachovia;  the  deed  was 
probated  in  1852  "at  the  March  term  of 
Court.  In  order  to  obtain  funds  for 
buying  the  land  and  for  necessary  build- 
ings the  Court,  in  June,  1850,  author- 
ized the  Committee  to  borrow  $1,000.00, 
which  the  County  of  Forsyth  pledged 
itself  to  repay. 


CHAPTER  VII, 


NAMING  THE  COUNTY  TOWN. 

Up  to  this  time  the  new  County  Town 
had  possessed  no  separate  name,  and 
there  was  much  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  what  it  should  be.  In  the  Court  of 
Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions,  on  June 
17th,  1850,  an  attempt  was  made  to  have 
it  settled  by  a  vote  of  the  people,  and 
the  motion  is  recorded  in  fall  in  the  Min- 
utes, as  follows  : 

*'  Whereas  ia  the  supplemental  act  of  the 
last  General  Assembly  dividing  the  County  of 
Stokes  there  was  no  name  given  nor  any  way 
pointed  out  by  which  a  name  should  be  given 
the  County  Seat  of  Forsyth  County :  And 
whereas  the  Commissioners  of  said  County 
having  located  the  County  Seat  and  Public 
Buildings  immediately  adjoining  the  Town  of 
Salem  (and  some  of  its  citizens  having  since 
built  to  an  adjoining  lot  of  the  Court  House 
Tract)  it  was  believed  by  the  Committee,  or  a 
majority  of  them,  that  it  was  unnecessary  to 


68  HISTORY    OF 

give  the  County  Seat  of  Forsyth  County  any 
other  name  than  Salem,  and  so  sold  the  lots 
and  have  made  deeds  under  that  name  : 

"And  whereas  of  late  it  appears  that  the 
name  of  Salem  for  the  County  Seat  of  Forsyth 
has  given  a  good  deal  of  dissatisfaction  to  the 
people  in  some  portions  of  the  County,  and  as 
the  Courts  of  said  County  will  be,  in  a  few 
months,  held  at  the  new  Court  House,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  said  Court  House  should 
have  a  permanent  name  to  which  process 
should  be  returned  : 

"  And  whereas  this  Court  believing  that  as 
no  provision  has  been  made  by  the  Legisla- 
ture for  a  name,  and  also  believing  that  a 
majority  of  the  people  may  legally  and  prop- 
erly give  the  name  :  It  is  therefore  ordered  by 
the  Court  that  the  Sheriff  of  Forsyth  County 
hold  an  election  in  said  County  on  the  first  day 
of  August  next  for  that  purpose,  and  that  the 
Judges  of  the  Sheriff's  election  receive  the 
votes  for  the  name,  and  that  the  name  receiv- 
ing the  greatest  number  of  votes  be  declared 
the  name  of  the  Court  House  of  Forsyth 
County." 

But  the  motion  to  name  the  new 
Court  House  Town  by  a  popuhir  vote 
having  been  lost,  the  matter  rested  until 
the  following  session  of  the  Legislature, 
when  Col.  Henry  Marshall,  from  near 
Salem  Chapel,  introduced  a  Bill,  and  an 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  69 

Act  was  passed,  "giving  a  name  to  the 
connty  town  of  Forsyth  county,  and  for 
other  purposes."  This  Act,  which  was 
ratified  January  15th,  1851,  read  thus: 

"Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  State  of  IST.  C.  and  it  is  hereby 
enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That 
hereafter  the  county  town  of  Forsyth  county 
shall  be  styled  and  known  by  the  name  of 
Winston.''^ 

The  name  appears  for  the  first  time  in 
the  County  Eecords  on  March  17th,  1851, 
when  Court  was  "  opened  and  held  at 
the  Court  House  in  the  town  of  Wins- 
ton." 

Winston  was  named  in  honor  of  Major 
Joseph  Winston,  a  prominent  Is^orth 
Carolinian  during  Revolutionary  days. 
He  was  of  English  ancestry,  and  was 
born  in  Louisa  Co.,  Ya.,  June  17th,  1746. 
Having  received  a  fair  education,  he,  at 
the  age  of  seventeen,  joined  a  company 
of  rangers,  and  had  several  encounters 
with  hostile  Indians.  In  one  of  these, 
the  rangers  fell  into  an  ambuscade  and 
were  completely  routed.     Winston  was 


70  HISTORY    OF 

twice  wounded,  but  made  his  escape,  and 
was  carried  on  a  comrade's  back  for  three 
days,  until  they  reached  a  frontier  cabin. 
In  1766  he  moved  to  Surry  Co.,  N.  C, 
and  settled  near  Germanton.  In  1775 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Hillsboro  Con- 
vention, and  was  made  2d  Major  of  the 
Surry  County  Militia.  The  next  year 
he  became  ranger  of  Surry  County,  and 
1st  Major  of  Militia,  and  served  against 
the  Scotch  Tories  and  the  Cherokees.  In 
1777  he  was  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, and,  with  Waighstill  Avery,  Wm. 
Harper  and  Robert  Lanier,  was  commis- 
sioned by  Gov.  Caswell  to  treat  with  the 
Indians,  the  result  being  that  lands  in 
ISTorth  Carolina  and  Virginia  were  ceded 
to  those  States.  At  the  battle  of  King's 
Mountain,  October  7th,  17S0,  Major 
AVinston  and  his  men  from  Surry  and 
Wilkes  led  the  right  wing  of  the  little 
army,  and  formed  the  north-eastern  sec- 
tion of  the  circle  that  closed  in,  crushed 
Ferguson  and  his  British  troops,  and 
began  the   victory  which  was  completed 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  71 

at  Yorktown  For  bis  services  on  that 
day  the  Legislature  afterwards  presented 
him  with  a  sword.  Having  defeated  a 
band  of  loyalists  in  a  running  fight  in 
February,  1781,  he  took  part  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Guilford  Court  House  in  March. 
Major  Winston  represented  Surry  County 
in  the  State  Senate  for  three  terms,  and 
when  Stokes  County  was  formed  became 
the  first  Senator  from  that  county,  serv- 
ing five  times  between  1790  and  1812. 
In  1793-95,  and  again  in  1803-7,  he 
was  a  member  of  Congress.  He  died 
near  Germanton,  April  21st,  1815. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 


FORSYTH   COU:XTY   COURTS. 

Until  the  AVinston  Court  House  could 
be  built,  the  Forsyth  Courts  were  held 
in  the  Concert  Hall  in  Salem,  the  church 
authorities  having  given  their  permis- 
sion on  condition  that  no  whipping  post 
should  be  put  up  there.  The  appoint- 
ments of  the  Hall  were  very  primitive, 
as  appears  from  an  order  to  the  Sheriff 
to  "let  out  to  the  lowest  bidder  on  Sat- 
urday next  the  furnishing  of  sawdust, 
candles,  etc.,  for  the  Court  at  the  Town 
Hall  in  Salem,  at  so  much  per  Court," 
but  it  answered  every  purpose  for  the 
time  being. 

"  The  Act  supplemental  to  an  Act  to 
divide  the  County  of  Stokes  into  two  dis- 
tinct Counties"  provided  that  all  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace  and  Countv  Otlicials 


HISTOKT  OF  FORSYTH  COrXTY.  73 

should  serve  out  tlieir  terms  of  office  in 
tlie  counties  in  which  tliey  lived,  the 
gaps  made  by  this  division  to  be  filled  by 
appointment  of  the  Court  of  Pleas  and 
Quarter  Sessions  at  its  first  meeting, 
those  so  appointed  to  liold  office  until 
the  annual  election. 

On  March  19th,  1849,  sixteen  "Gen- 
tlemen Justices,  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned by  the  Governor  of  the  State," 
met  in  the  Salens  Concert  Hall,  and  took 
the  several  oafhs  of  office.  They  then 
elected  for  the  ensuing  year — 
Sherift— Wm.  Flynt, 
Clerk  of  the  Court — Andrew  J.  Staf- 
ford, 

County  Attorney — Thos.  J.  Wilson, 
Eegister  of  Deeds — F.  C.  Meinung, 
County  Trustee — Geo.  Linville, 
Coroner — John   H.  White,' 
Standard  Keeper — x^braham  Steiner. 
All  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  were 
entitled  tu  sit  in  the  Court  of  Pleas  and 
Quarter  Sessions, which  not  only  attended 
to   the   afi:airs   of  the  county,   but  tried 


74  HISTORY    OF 

minor  civil  and  criminal  cases,  but  the 
law  provided  that,  if  they  wished,  the 
Justices  might  annually  elect  a  chairman 
and  several  members  who  should  consti- 
tute a  Special  Court,  holding  the  Court 
of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  on  the 
third  Monday  in  March,  June,  Septem- 
ber and  December. 

On  March  20th,  therefore,  the  Justices 
elected  as  the  Special  Court — 

Francis  Fries.  Chairman. 

Philip  Barrow, 

Andrew  M.  Gamble, 

John  Peich, 

Jesse  A.  Waugh. 
The  Finance  Committee  consisted  of — 

C.  L.  Banner, 

Israel  G.  Lash, 

Francis  Fries. 

The  members  of  the  Special  Court 
were  each  allowed  $1.50  per  day  while 
in  session,  and  the  Finance  Committee 
the  same  for  such  time  as  was  needed  for 
their  official  duties.  The  county  taxes 
were  ordered  thus : 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  75 

County  tax,  60c.  poll,19c.  per  $100.00  real  estate. 

Poor  tax,       24f     "       5|     ' ' 

School  tax,  15      '"       7i     "        "  "        " 

Total,      99|c.  p'l,32ic.  per  |100.00  real  est. 

The  Superior  Court  and  a  Court  of 
Equity  met  twice  a  year,  on  the  second 
Monday  after  the  fourth  Monday  in 
March  and  September,  the  first  Judge 
presiding  in  Forsyth  being  John  M. 
Dick. 

The  first  case  of  any  interest  was  tried 
in  October,  1850,  before  Judge  Mathias 
E.  Manly,  Adam  Crooks  and  Jesse  Mc- 
Bride  beine:  indicted  for  circulating^  lit- 
erature  inciting  the  negro  slaves  to 
rebellion.  Crooks  was  found  "not  guilty" 
in  the  particular  instance  selected  for 
trial,  but  McBride  was  sentenced  to  be 
imprisoned  one  year,  stand  in  the  pillory 
one  hour,  and  receive  twenty  lashes.  He 
appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  giving 
bond  for  ^1, 000. 00,  and  ran  away  before 
getting  a  new  trial. 

In  April,  1851,  the  Superior  Court 
was    held    in    the   new  Court  House  in 


ib  HISTOKY    OF 

Winston,  Judge  J.  L.  Baily  presiding. 
During  tliis  term  Edmund  Martin,  a  free 
negro,  accused  of  stealing  a  slave,  was 
condemned  to  death  ;  but  having  ap- 
pealed to  the  Supreme  Court,  he  was 
granted  a  new  trial,  and  was  acquitted. 

The  first  execution  ordered  by  a  For- 
syth Court  took  place  in  November,  1852, 
when  Charles,  a  slave,  the  property  of 
W.  J.  McElroy,  was  hanged  for  murder, 
having  been  convicted  in  October  of  that 
year. 

In  March,  1850,  C.  L.  Banner  was 
elected  chairman  of  the  Court  of  Pleas 
and  Quarter  Sessions. 

The  Minute  Docket  of  that  Court, 
under  date  of  December  16th,  1850,  con- 
tains an  account  of  the  opening  of  the 
new  Court  House  : 

"  On  motion  it  was  resolved  that  the  Court 
adjourn  to  meet  again  at  1  o'clock  P.  M.  at  the 
new  Court  House,  the  fact  having  be^n  ascer- 
tained that  said  building  was  in  sufficient  state 
of  preparation  for  the  Sessions  of  the  Court  to 
be  held  therein."  "Court  met  agreeably  to 
adjournment.  Present,  C.  L.  Banner,  John 
Butner,  Caleb  H.  Matthews,  H.  R.  Lehman. 


PrM\ 


Z,,'"^. 
"'''•'  ''%. 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  77 

After  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  the  Rev.  Michael 
Doub  delivered  a  prayer  to  Almighty  God, 
that  whatever  might  be  transacted  within  the 
w^alls  of  this  building  might  tend  to  the  prop- 
agation of  Justice,  and  the  promotion  of  mor- 
ality and  Religion.  On  motion  it  was  ordered 
by  the  Court  that  ministers  of  the  Gos})el  of 
all  respectable  denominations  be  permitted  to 
preach  in  the  Court  House ;  and  that  the  per- 
son for  the  time  having  the  care  and  custody 
of  the  Court  House  is  hereby  directed  to  hand 
over  the  keys  to  any  one  calling  for  them  for 
the  jjurpose  aforesaid.  Provided,  however, 
that  the  license  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to 
include  the  denomination  called  the  '  True 
Wesleyans.'  " 

The  Court  House,  so  auspiciously 
opened,  was  a  two  story  brick  building, 
44x60  feet,  standing  with  its  gable  end 
fronting  the  south.  The  portico,  12  feet 
wide,  stretched  across  the  entire  front, 
the  roof  being  supported  by  four  large 
pillars,  each  30  feet  high.  In  the  vesti- 
bule, stairways  on  the  right  and  lelt  led 
to  the  second  floor,  which  was  devoted 
to  the  Court  Room.  The  first  story  had 
a  corridor  running  from  south  to  north, 
with  three  rooms  on  each  side,  the  north- 
west room  being  occupied  by  the  Clerk 


78  HISTORY    OF 

of  the  Court,  while  the  Register  of  Deeds 
had  the  north-east,  the  Sheriff  the  mid- 
dle, and  the  Grand  Jury  the  south-east 
room.  This  left  two  vacant  rooms, 
which  were  rented  as  lawyers'  offices, 
until  the  south-west  one  was  taken  for 
the  County  Board  of  Education,  and  the 
middle  west  hecanie  a  store  room.  Later, 
the  partition  between  the  storeroom  and 
Clerk  of  the  Court's  office  was  torn  away 
to  give  the  Clerk  more  place  ;  the  Sheriff 
took  the  south-west  room,  and  the  retir- 
ing Sheriff  used  the  middle  east  until  his 
business  was  completed.  The  petit  jury 
had  no  place  assigned,  but  met  in  which- 
ever room  was  convenient,  and  in  tine 
weather  out  under  the  trees. 

A  memorandum  is  still  preserved, 
showing  the  cost  of  the  buildings  and 
how  this  cost  was  met : 

DEBIT.  .$  c. 

Cost  of  Buildings,  etc.— 

Brick,  lumber ;j>4284  53 

Carpenters'  work 1752  36 

Brick  laying  and  plaster'g,  1023  80 
Digging.glazing,iron  work, 

etc 1778  90 

8839  59 


FORSYTH     COUNTY.  79 

Court  House  Well 42  23 

Discount  on  Cash  payment  for  Lots 90  56 

Interest  on  money  advanced  by  F,  Fries  48  00 

Interest  on  money  borrowed 63  00 

$9083  38 

CREDIT.  $  C. 

Sale  of  Lots— 1st  Sale $6712  25 

2d      "     2021  75 

Additional 99  50 

8833  50 

Interest  on  time  payments  on  Lots 136  64 

Deducted  from  cost  of  Buildings 10  00 

Balance  to  be  paid  by  the  Co. Treas.     103  24 

$9083  38 

With  the  S256.25,  the  amount  paid  for 

the  land  for  the  County  Town,  the  Court 

House  site  and   building  really  cost  the 

County  just  $359.49. 

Having  entered  into  possession  of  its 
new  quarters,  the  Court  authorized  Fran- 
cis Fries  to  purchase  a  bell,  weighing 
about  300  pounds,  and  have  it  hung  in 
the  Court  House  cupola;  desired  the 
building  Commissioners  to  have  light- 
ning rods  put  on  the  Court  House  and 
Jail,  and  a  ball  and  vane  affixed  to  the 
rod  above  the  cupola  on  the  Court  House; 


80  HISTORY    OF 

and  appointed  C.  L.  Banner  to  superin- 
tend the  construction  of  suitable  shelves 
for  the  use  of  the  Clerks  of  the  County 
and  Superior  Cuurts. 

March  17th,  1851,  Court  was  "  opened 
and  held  at  the  Court  House  in  Wi7is- 
ton^''  and  payment  made  for  the  tempo- 
rary meeting  place  in  Salem,  S50.00 
being  allowed  for  the  Concert  Hall,  and 
$22.00  for  a  Grand  Jury  Koom  in  Mr. 
James  Hall's  house.  The  Sherifi"  was 
ordered  to  "  procure  a  carpet  to  cover  the 
floor  of  the  Court  Room  on  the  most  rea- 
sonable terms,  said  carpet  within  the 
Bar  to  be  Store  Carpet,  and  without  the 
Bar  home-made."  He  was  also  "  to  let 
the  keeping  of  the  Court  House  to  the 
lowest  bidder  on  Saturday  of  each  March 
Court,-'  the  contractor  to  see  that  the 
building  and  Square  were  kept  in  good 
condition,  rooms,  hall  and  stairs  dusted 
during  Court  week,  and  candles  and 
wood  furnished  when  needed.  The  keys 
were  left  with  the  Clerk  of  the  County 
Court. 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  Ol 

The  Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Ses- 
sions continued  to  meer  until  the  up- 
heaval and  reconstruction  of  1868,  when 
it  was  abolished  by  the  new  Constitu- 
tion, the  government  of  county  affairs 
being  vested  in  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners,  and  the  judicial  func- 
tions reverting  to  the  Superior  Court. 

In  187T  a  Court  "  inferior  to  the  Supe- 
rior Court  "  was  established  in  Forsyth, 
for  the  trial  of  criminal  actions.  It  was 
held  by  three  men  chosen  by  the  Justices 
of  the  Peace  from  the  body  of  the  county, 
and  they,  in  their  turn,  elected  one  of 
their  number  as  Presiding  Justice.  The 
Inferior  Courts  continued  to  be  held 
until  1885,  when  they  were  abolished, 
all  cases  being  transferred  to  the  Supe- 
rior Court. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


COUNTY   MILITIA. 

The  breaking  out  of  tlie  Civil  AVar, 
and  the  reconstruction  following  those 
troubled  years,  brought  various  other 
changes  into  the  county.  The  first  of 
these  was  the  crumbling  of  the  old  sys- 
tem of  County  Militia,  which  had  origi- 
nally been  a  necessity  for  the  protection 
of  the  settlement,  l)ut  had  grown  weak 
and  formal  during  many  years  of  purely 
nominal  service,  and  was  discarded  in 
the  face  of  active  warfare. 

The  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina  saw 
the  needs  that  might  arise  during  the 
early  years  of  that  province,  and  secured 
provision  for  them  in  the  Cliarter  granted 
them  by  Charles  I. 

"  And  because  that  in  so  remote  a  country, 
and  scituate  among:  so  many  barbarous  na- 
tions, and  the  invasions  as  well  of  salvages  as 


HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUXTY.  83 

of  other  enemies,  pirates  and  robbers,  may 
probably  be  feared  ;  therefore  we  have  given 
and  do  give  power  unto  the  said  Edward,  Earl 
of  Clarendon,  etc.,  by  themselves,  or  their 
captains,  or  other  their  officers,  to  levy,  mus- 
ter and  train  all  sorts  of  men  of  what  condi- 
tion or  wheresoever  born,  in  the  said  province 
for  the  time  being,  and  make  war,  and  pursue 
the  enemies  aforesaid."' 

The  Militia  was  therefore  organized 
throughout  the  colony,  new  companies 
being  formed  as  the  settlements  extended, 
the  enrollment  including  all  able-bodied 
men  between  tlie  ages  of  eighteen  and 
forty-iive.  It  did  efficient  work  during 
the  trouble  with  tlie  Indians,  and  in  the 
Kevolutionary  War  was  the  main  defense 
of  North  Carolina  against  the  invasions 
of  Lord  Cornwallis,  her  regulars  having 
been  taken  prisoners  at  the  fall  of 
Charleston.  More  than  5,000  of  the 
North  Carolina  Militia  were  sent  to  help 
the  South  Carolinians  in  their  futile 
attempt  to  beat  back  the  British  troops  ; 
and  when,  flushed  with  conquest,  Corn- 
wallis thought  to  crush  North  Carolina 
also,  he  found  himself  in  "  a  nest  of  hor- 


84  HISTORY    OF 

nets,"  harrassed  by  the  Militia,  who  time 
and  again  cut  off  portions  of  his  army, 
until  the  disillusioned  General  was  forced 
to  beat  a  retreat. 

Most  unfortunately  the  army  registers 
do  not  contain  the  names  of  any  of  the 
volunteer  troops  or  Militia,  and  as  the 
latter  were  called  out  in  detachments, 
usually  to  serve  a  three  months'  "  tour," 
and  then  disband,  it  is  impossible  to  fol- 
low with  accuracy  the  companies  raised 
in  anv  locality. 

The  victory  at  King's  Mountain  was 
won  by  volunteers  from  among  the  Mil- 
itia of  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and 
into  this  battle  Major  Joseph  Winston 
led  a  body  of  men  from  Surry  County, 
among  them  being  Henry  Grieger,  of  the 
north-western  portion  of  what  is  now 
Forsyth.  No  doubt  family  tradition  pre- 
serves the  names  of  many  other  patriots 
who  shared  in  that  fierce,  decisive 
engagement,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
they  will  yet  be  placed  on  the  honor  roll 
of  history. 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  85 

In  ITSl,  General  William  Lee  David- 
son called  out  a  detachment  of  ]\Iilitia 
from  the  Salisbury  and  Morganton  Dis- 
tricts (which  included  the  Muddy  Creek 
regions),  and  they  helped  defend  the 
fords  of  the  Catawba  against  Cornwallis, 
and  about  the  middle  of  February,  under 
command  of  Gen.  Andrew  Pickens, 
passed  through  Salem  on  their  way  to 
the  short  but  fierce  campaign  which  pre- 
ceded the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House, 
fought  on  March  15th,  1781.  Pickens' 
command  was  not  in  that  engagement, 
for  their  time  was  up,  and  they  had  dis- 
banded ;  but  on  the  25th  of  February, 
Maj.  AYinston  joined  Green's  army  with 
a  detachment  of  100  men,  and  "these 
riflemen  of  Surry  were  the  very  last  to 
leave  the  field  "  on  which  was  given  that 
"fatal  wound  to  royal  authority  from 
which  it  lingered  and  lingering  died,  on 
the  19th  day  of  October,  1T81,"  at  York- 
town. 

After    the     Eevolutionary    AYar,    the 
Militia  became  less  necessary  for  the  pro- 


86  HISTORY    OF 

tection  of  tlie  country,  but  the  organiza- 
tion was  continued.  In  1831  the  "  Sec- 
ond Regiment  of  Stokes  County  Militia  " 
was  commanded  by  Col.  Joseph  W. 
Winston,  son  of  Major  Joseph  Winston. 
The  followiug  year  a  committee  of  five 
was  appointed  "  to  regulate  the  lines 
between  each  Captain's  company,''  and, 
later,  it  was  "ordered  by  the  Court  Mar- 
chiel  that  the  Judge  advocate  shall  Fur- 
nish Every  Captain  In  the  South  Eidge- 
ment  With  A  Copy  of  the  Destrick  or 
baunds  to  which  he  belongs  or  Commands 
by  next  Drill  at  Salem  In  May  1834 
which  was  done  by  the  Judge  advocate 
on  the  2  day  of  May  183-1."  These  Cap- 
tains' Districts,  nine  in  number,  could 
hardly  be  considered  as  the  predecessors 
of  the  townships,  although  they  occupied 
to  some  extent  the  same  localities  as  the 
townships  which  were  formed  after  the 
war.  They  were  simply  divisions  of  the 
land,  apportioning  a  number  of  men  to 
each  Captain's  Company,  the  lines 
running    as    seemed     convenient     along 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  87 

roads,  by  streams,  around  plantations 
and  down  lanes.  The  boundaries  were 
frequently  altered  and  new  districts 
formed,  there  being  17  in  January,  1862, 
with  about  1,635  men  enrolled. 

The  Legislature  of  1848-1849  enacted 
that  all  men  between  35  and  45,  while 
remaining  liable  to  duty  in  case  of  w^ar, 
might  secure  certificates  freeing  them 
from  diills,  etc.,  in  times  of  peace.  There 
w^ere  usually  two  General  Musters  a  year, 
the  first  being  in  April  or  May,  the  sec- 
ond in  October  or  I^ovember.  Soldiers 
were  fined  for  non-attendance  by  their 
Company  Court  Martials,  with  right  of 
appeal  to  the  Regimental  Court  Martial. 
The  General  Musters  were  held  in  Salem 
in  1831,  '32  and  '34;  in  Germanton  in  1833 
and  '35;  in  Salem  in  1836;  in  Bethabara 
from  1837-'43;  in  Liberty  from  1844- 
'47;  in  Salem  from  1848-'50,  and  were 
removed  permanently  to  Winston  in 
1851.  The  officers  of  each  company  were 
elected  annually,  all  the  companies  vot- 
ing for  the  field  officers. 


88  HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUNTY. 

The  Colonels  Commandant  between 
1831  and  1862  were— 

Col.  Ziglar, 

Col.  John  Flynt, 

Col.  J.  A.  Stafford, 

Col.  M.  Masten, 

Col.  J.  W.  Alspaugh, 

Col.  Joseph  Hasten. 

When  Stokes  County  was  divided,  the 
Second  or  South  Regiment  of  Stokes 
County  Militia  became  the  Forsyth 
County  Militia,  the  Q^th  Regiment  of 
North  Carolina  Jlilitia,  which  was  later 
changed  to  the  71st  Regiment,  North 
Carolina  Militia.  The  Forsvth  County 
Militia,  as  such,  was  not  called  out  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  Militia  elsewhere  in  the 
State  only  rarely,  and  for  a  short  time. 
After  the  war  there  was  an  attempt  to 
reorganize  the  Militia,  but  its  place  was 
ultimately  taken  by  the  volunteer  com- 
panies composing  the  State  Guard. 


CHAPTER  X. 


FORSYTH   AND   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 

On  December  20tb,  1860,  after  many 
years  of  sectional  misunderstanding  in 
the  country  at  large,  where  political  jeal- 
ousies had  fanned  a  flame  that  various 
compromises  had  temporarily  allayed 
but  could  not  quench,  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  seceded  from  the  Union,  believ- 
ing that  a  "  Soverign  State "  should 
peacefully  withdraw  from  a  union  in 
which  it  no  longer  found  just  treatment 
or  advantage.  Mississippi,  Florida,  Ala- 
bama, Georgia,  Louisiana  and  Texas 
quickly  followed,  and  on  February  18th, 
1861,  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  was 
inaugurated  President  of  the  Confeder- 
ate States  of  America. 

No  one  knew  what  stand  the  JNorth 
would   take,  so,   for  the  security  of  the 


90  HISTORY    OF 

new  government,  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress, on  the  28th  of  February,  author- 
ized the  President 

"to  receive  into  the  service  of  this  Govern- 
ment such  forces  now  in  tlie  service  of  said 
States  (Confederate)  as  may  be  tendered,  or 
who  may  volunteer  by  consent  of  their  State 
in  such  numbers  as  he  may  require,  for  any 
time  not  less  than  twelvemonths  unless  sooner 
discharged/' 

Again,  on  March  6th,  "  in  order  to  pro- 
vide speedily  forces  to  repel  invasion," 
the  President  was  authorized  to  employ 
the  Militia,  and  ask  for  and  accept  the 
services  of  any  number  of  volunteers,  not 
exceeding  100,000. 

On  March  -Ith,  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
inaugurated  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  on  April  15th,  he  issued  a 
proclamation  calling  for  75,000  men  to 
suppress  "combinations"  in  the  seven 
seceding  States,  by  which  the  execution 
of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  were 
being  obstructed.  Six  of  the  border 
States  refused  this  demand  on  their  Mil- 
itia in  no  measured  terms,  Governor 
Ellis,  of  North  Carolina,  writing — 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  91 

'•  Your  dispatch  received,  and,  if  genuine, 
which  its  extraordinary  character  leads  me  to 
doubt,  I  have  to  say,  in  reply,  that  I  regard 
the  levy  of  troops  made  by  the  Administration 
for  the  purpose  of  subjugating-  the  States  of 
the  South  as  in  violation  of  the  Constitution, 
and  a  usurpation  of  power.  I  can  be  no  party 
to  this  wicked  violation  of  the  laws  of  the 
country,  and  to  this  war  upon  the  liberties  of 
a  free  people.  You  can  get  no  troops  from 
North  Carolina.'' 

Two  days  after  the  appearance  of  the 
Proclamation,  Virginia  witlidrew  from 
the  Union,  North  Carolina  followed  on 
the  21st  of  May,  and,  with  Tennessee 
and  Arkansas,  joined  the  Confederate 
States. 

In  the  organization  of  the  army  it  was 
the  intention  that  the  troops  sent  by  the 
various  States  should  come  in  companies, 
or,  if  sufficiently  numerous,  in  regiments, 
commanded  by  their  own  officers,  the 
general  officers  to  be  appointed  by  the 
government. 

At  first,  this  was  not  always  done,  and 
a  good  deal  of  complaint  was  made,  but 
later  the  companies  for  each  regiment, 
and   even   each  brigade,  were  from   the 


92  HISTORY    OF 

same  State,  and  commanded  by  officers 
from  that  State. 

During  ISGl  there  were  as  many  vol- 
unteers as  the  Confederate  Government 
could  arm,  but  by  the  close  of  that  year 
it  became  apparent  that  the  struggle 
would  be  protracted  and  severe,  and  that 
a  more  permanent  and  larger  army  was 
a  necessity.  Congress  therefore,  in  March, 
lS6k2,  authorized  the  President  to  call 
'out  all  white  men  between  IS  and  35 
years  of  age,  for  three  years  of  service, 
those  already  enlisted  for  one  year  to 
have  their  time  extended  ;  and  on  March 
13th,  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  was  "charged 
witli  the  conduct  of  the  military  opera- 
tions of  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy," 
under  the  direction  of  President  Davis. 

The  "Conscription  Act"  raised  a  storm 
in  several  States,  particularly  in  Georgia 
and  North  Carolina,  where  it  was  con- 
sidered an  invasion  of  States  Rights, 
Governor  Yance  even  going  so  far  as  to 
threaten  to  call  out  the  Militia  to  resist 
the    conscript    offit^ers.      This    objection 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  93 

was  a  legal  one,  and  arose  from  no  luke- 
warmness  in  the  cause  of  the  Southern 
States,  into  whose  armies  North  Caro- 
lina sent  89,344  volunteers,  ii.  addition 
to  the  30,000  men  enlisted  under  the 
severel  Conscription  Acts,  altogether 
about  one-fifth  of  her  whole  white  popu- 
lation. 

On  September  2Tth,  1862,  a  call  was 
made  for  all  men  between  35  and  45 
years  old,  and  February  11th,  1864,  the 
age  limit  was  extended  to  17  and  50,  the 
boys  from  17  to  18  constituting  the  Jun- 
ior Reserves,  and  men  from  45  to  50  the 
Senior  E,eserves,and  all  were  enlisted  "for 
the  war."  While  the  earlier  volunteer 
was  able  to  join  any  company  he  wished, 
if  he  had  a  preference,  the  conscript  was 
sent  to  any  regiment  from  his  State  that 
needed  refilling,  so  that  men  from  the 
same  town  might  be  serving  in  widely 
separated  fields. 

Meanwhile  President  Lincoln  had 
issued  his  Proclamation  of  Emancipation 
on  January  Ist,  1863,  and  on  March  3d, 


94:  HISTORY    OF 

1863,  a  Xorthern  Conscription  Act  called 
out  all  Northern  men  between  IS  and 
45  to  join  the  army. 

Forsyth  County  sent  its  full  (jiiota  of 
soldiers  to  the  front,  and  shared  in  all 
the  anxieties  and  privations  of  the  times, 
but  was  spared  the  horror  of  becoming  a 
battlefield.  Parents  in  less  favored  dis- 
tricts regarded  it  as  a  place  of  refuge, 
and  sent  their  daughters  to  the  Boarding 
School  in  Saleni,  until  that  Institution 
Avas  full  to  overflowing  and  could  receive 
no  more.  Gov.  Yance  showed  the  School 
every  courtesy  in  his  power,  supplying  it 
with  sugar,  etc.,  from  captured  stores, 
and  arranging  that  Mr.  Augustus  Fogle, 
the  School's  Steward,  should  be  exempt 
from  military  duty  in  order  to  serve  the 
daughters  of  the  South. 

A  few  other  men  were  detailed  to 
superintend  the  work  in  the  Salem 
Woolen  Mill,  which  was  run  to  its  full- 
est capacity  to  furnish  the  much  needed 
"  Confederate  Gray  "  for  the  soldiers  in 
the  field. 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  95 

On  March  20th,  1S65,  Stoneman's  Raid 
started  from  East  Tennessee.  Of  this 
and  two  similar  expeditions  sent  out 
about  the  same  time,  Gen.  Grant  wrote: 

"They  were  all  eminently  successful,  but 
without  any  good  result.  Indeed  much  valu- 
able property  was  destroyed  and  many  lives 
lost  at  a  time  when  we  would  have  liked  to 
spare  them.  Stoneman  entered  North  Caro- 
lina and  then  pushed  north  to  strike  at  the 
Virginia  and  Tennessee  Railroad.  He  got  upon 
that  road,  destroyed  its  bridges  at  different 
places,  and  rendered  the  road  useless  to  the 
enemy  up  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Lynchburg. 
He  then  pushed  south,  and  was  operating  in 
the  rear  of  Johnston's  army  about  the  time 
that  negotiations  were  going  on  between  Sher- 
man and  Johnston  for  the  latter's  surrender.'' 
As  Stoneman  marched  into  North  Car- 
olina the  news  of  his  cominoj  preceded 
him,  striking  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people  whose  defenders  were  far  away. 
It  was  expected  that  he  wonld  reach 
Salem  about  the  first  of  April,  and  scents 
were  posted  all  along  the  road  to  the 
Shallow  Ford,  that  notice  might  speedily 
be  given  when  he  crossed,  but  after  an 
anxions  waiting  news  came  that  he  had 
turned  toward  Yiro:inia. 


96  HISTORY    OF 

A  few  days  later  however,  as  be  marched 
south,  the  entire  body  passed  through 
Forsytli.  About  5,000  men,  with  Gen. 
Stoneman  in  command  stopped  for  three 
hours  in  Bethania,  the  General  making 
his  headquarters  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Elias 
Schaub.  It  being  Monday  of  Easter 
Week  (April  10th, )  the  Bethania  people 
were  all  in  church  when  the  word  came 
that,  all  unexpectedly,  the  Yankees  were 
entering  the  upper  end  of  the  town,  and 
when  Rev.  Jacob  Siewers  dismissed  the 
congregation  the  streets  were  already 
filled  with  soldiers,  who  burst  open  doors 
and  rummaged  throngh  draweis,  but  did 
no  serious  damage  beyond  the  usual  taking 
of  horses.  Of  these  only  one  escaped, 
and  that  because  Mr.  Schaiib  appealed 
directly  to  Gen.  Stoneman  for  protection, 
which  was  granted.  iVfter  eating  every.- 
thing  that  could  be  procured,  the  party 
moved  on  to  the  Yadkin,  crossing  at 
Shallow  Ford. 

At  Winston,  the  county  seat,  the  Supe- 
rior Court  should  have  been  in   session, 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  97 

but  the  Minute  Docket  gives  no  record 
of  cases  tried,  onlj  the  following  state- 
ment, signed  by  John  Blackburn,  the 
Clerk  of  the  Court. 

"  The  second  Monday  after  the  fourth  Mon- 
day of  March,  A.  D.  1865  Being  the  10th  day  of 
April. 

Be  it  remembered  that  the  above  mentioned 
10th  day  of  April  A.  D.  1865,  is  the  regular  time 
of  holding  the  Superior  Court  of  Law  of  the 
County  of  Forsyth  at  the  Court  House  in 
Winston.  And  the  Clerk  and  Sheriff  T.  J. 
Wilson  &  D.  H.  Starbuck  also  Jurors  witness 
suitors  &G  attended  no  Judge  Soliciter  or  any 
other  Attornies  attended  considerable  excite- 
ment &  many  reports  concerning  the  arrival  of 
the  Federal  army  in  town  was  in  circulation 
during  the  day  and  after  waiting  patiently  for 
the  Judge  to  come  until  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  &  information  being  received  that 
the  Yankee  army  was  assuredly  on  its  way  not 
very  far  distant,  the  people  began  to  disperse 
rather  unceremoniously  not  taking  time  to  bid 
their  friends  adieu,  I  consulted  some  of  my 
friends  about  what  I  should  do  with  records 
&  papers  in  the  Superior  Court  Clerk's  office 
and  on  consultation  concluded  to  remove  the 
most  valuable,  and  moved  some  of  my  dockets 
&  placed  them  in  the  care  of  Mrs.  Emily  Webb, 
wife  of  James  Webb,  &  some  with  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Long  Widow  who  lived  in  part  of  the 
7 


98  HISTORY    OF 

large  Brick  buildinfr  west  of  the  Courthouse 
known  as  Millers  Storehouse.  One  of  the 
dockets  I  handed  in  much  haste  to  my  friend 
George  H.  Flynt  and  requested  him  to  do  the 
best  he  could  to  save  it  he  left  it  with  my  friend 
F.  L.  Gorrell  Esq.  Some  of  the  most  valuable 
papers  I  tumbled  into  a  sack  and  left  them 
with  Mrs.  Long  at  this  time  great  Confusion 
prevailed  it  being  certain  the  army  was  not  far 
distant  Capt.  W.  A.  Albright  Enrolling  Officer 
had  a  considerable  Confederate  Guard  in  the 
Courthouse  &  they  left  precipitately  I  locked 
up  the  office  and  started  down  street  to  hear 
the  news  in  Salem.  Met  Robert  De  Schweinitz 
principal  of  the  Female  Academj^  in  Salem 
Joshua  Boner  Mayor  of  Salem,  Thos.  J.  Wilson 
Mayor  of  Winston  and  R.  L.  Patterson,  Esq. 
who  was  on  a  visit  to  Salem,  on  their  way  up 
street  to  meet  the  Yankee  Army.  They  invited 
me  to  accompany  them  and  we  went  up  street 
into  Liberty  in  front  of  rhe  house  then  occu- 
pied l)y  Mr.  Alexander  Bevel  and  halted  there 
&  waited  the  arrival  of  the  army  which  was 
about  or  near  sundown.  The  first  to  come 
was  ten  or  fifteen  men  on  horse  back  Pistols 
in  hand  in  full  gallop  on  their  arrival  in  forty 
or  fifty  yards  we  raised  white  handkerchiefs 
to  let  them  know  our  mission  was  peace  they 
replied  all  right,  they  was  angry  &  inquired 
for  Confederate  or  rebel  soldiers  said  they  had 
been  fired  on  other  parties  came  up  soon  &  it 
was  not  long  until  Gen'l  Palmer  and  Staff 
arrived  when  one  of  our  company  introduced 


Forsyth  county.  99 

himself  to  Gen'l  Palmer  &  then  introduced  the 
others  to  him  &  he  introduced  us  to  several  of 
his  officers  &c  &  invited  us  to  accompany  him 
into  town  which  we  did  the  main  army  en- 
camped near  the  Salem  Bridg-e  on  the  east 
[southj  side  of  the  Creek.  Gren'l  Head  quar- 
ters was  at  the  residence  of  Joshua  Boner  Esq 
in  Salem." 

The  Memorabilia  of  the  Moravian 
Church  for  1865  also  gives  an  account 
of  the  visit  of  General  Palmer's  Brigade. 
"After  Ave  had  enjoyed  the  solemn  meetings 
on  Pa'm  Sunday  we  were  greatly  startled  the 
next  day,  April  10th,  by  the  intelligence  that 
the  same  part  of  the  Federal  army  looked  for 
on  the  3rd  would  pass  through  Salem,  and 
indeed  toward  evening  about  4  o'clock  they 
appeared  all  at  once  in  our  midst." 

Scouts  had  been  sent  out  to  watch  for 
their  approach,  and  when  the  Yankees 
saw  them  across  the  hills  there  was  a 
race  for  town,  in  the  coarse  of  which 
one  man  was  captured.  H^  was  taken 
to  the  Federal  camp,  but  was  released 
next  morning. 

"Before  we  could  realize  it  soldiers  were 
seen  at  every  corner  of  the  streets,  had  taken 
possession  of  the  post-office,  and  secured  our 
whole  town.     Some  of  our  brethren  had  gone 


100  HISTORY    OF 

out  to  meet  Gen'l  Palmer,  the  Commander  of 
the  troops  coming  our  way,  and  our  Mayor, 
Bro.  Josh.  Boner,  addressed  him  personally. 
AVhen  commending  our  town  and  community 
to  his  protection,  not  only  on  our  own  account 
but  also  on  account  of  our  large  female  board- 
ing school,  the  General  assured  him  that  no 
destruction  of  any  kind  would  be  allowed,  and 
that  we  might  feel  perfectly  secure  from  harm 
during  their  stay  with  us.  Gen'l  Palmer  estab- 
lished his  headquarters  in  the  house  of  our 
Bro.  Josh.  Boner.  In  very  great,  comparative, 
silence  about  3,000  cavalry  passed  through  our 
toAvn,  pitching  their  tents  on  the  high  ground 
beyond  the  creek.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
noise  their  horses  and  swords  made  it  would 
have  been  hardly  noticed  that  so  large  a  num- 
ber of — at  the  time — hostile  troops  were  pass- 
ing through  our  streets.  The  strictest  discip- 
line was  enforced,  guards  rode  up  and  down 
every  street,  and  very  few  indeed,  compara- 
tively, were  the  violations  of  proper  and 
becoming  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  soldiers." 

Guards  were  also  stationed  at  all  the 
principal  buildings  in  town,  and  Mr. 
Augustus  Fogle,  the  Steward  of  Salem 
Femaie  Academy,  used  to  enjoy  relating 
his  experiences  with  the  soldier  who  was 
put  in  charge  of  the  Academy.  Finding 
him  little  more  than  a  boy  and  tired  out 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  101 

from  liis  long  march,  Mr.  Fogle  put  him 

to  bed,  where  he  slept  serenely  until  an 

officer  came  by  and  excitedly  demanded 

his    whereabouts.      Being    ushered    into 

the    room,    the    officer    was    completely 

amazed,  and  exclaiming,  "  A  soldier  in 

an  enemy's  country  asleep  in  an  enemy's 

bed  !  "  jerked   the  young    fellow   to  the 

floor  and  ordered  him  oif  to  camp. 

Throughout  the  town  "the  night  was  as 
quiet  as  any  other,  except  that  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  riding  to  and  fro  in  Main  Street, 
and  some  of  us  could  not  divest  themselves  of 
apprehensions  that  they  and  their  houses 
would  be  in  imminent  danger  in  case  the  cot- 
ton factories  in  town  should  be  molested. 
Providentially  government  stores  were  in  town 
in  considerable  abundance,  so  that  individuals 
were  not  called  upon  to  furnish  anything 
except  bread  and  the  like,  for  which  the  men 
would  generally  ask  politely  and  return  thanks 
in  the  same  manner.  No  outrages  of  any  kind 
(except  the  pressing  of  horses)  were  commit- 
ted, and  even  the  cotton  manufactories  were 
spared  by  the  Federals.  Without  any  fault 
on  the  part  of  their  officers,  entrance  was 
effected  into  one  of  thpse  establishments,  and 
a  considerable  damage  was  done.  During  the 
afternoon  of  the  11th  a  large  number  of  the 
Federals  came  back  from  the  railroad,  which 


102  HISTORY    OF 

they  bad  tapped  in  several  places.  By  some 
mistake  they  came  iuto  the  graveyard  avenue 
and  passed  through  the  graveyard  and  part  of 
the  cemetery,  having  shifted  their  camp  to  a 
place  above  town,  but  passing  through  those 
hallowed  grounds  almost  all  of  them  dis- 
mounted and  led  their  horses,  some  even  un- 
covered their  heads.  Before  dark  thej^  had 
all  left,  passing  through  Winston  towards  the 
river,  and  though  other  soldiers,  said  to  be 
less  disciplined  than  Palmer's  Brigade,  have 
been  near  our  town,  they  were  not  permitted 
to  enter  it.  Nevertheless  prudence  directed  a 
measure  of  precaution,  especially  against 
stragglers  from  Johnston's  army,  and  for  some 
time  our  own  people  kept  watch  during  the 
night,  and  by  the  Lord's  kind  assistance  all 
evil  was  averted. 

The  Confederate  armies  under  Lee  having 
surrendered  [April  9th,  1865],  portions  of  them 
passed  through  our  town  every  day.  They 
were  of  course  under  no  discipline,  and  ren- 
dered watchful  care  necessarj'. 

On  the  20th  of  April  a  number  of  Confeder- 
ates made  their  appenrauce,  pretending  to  be 
in  search  of  government  cloth,  to  find  which 
they  had  intended  to  search  individual  houses. 
As  had  been  agreed  upon  the  different  bells 
were  at  once  rung,  and  in  a  very  short  time  a 
by  no  means  inconsiderable  number  of  men, 
many  of  them  soldiers  themselves  who  had 
come  back  on  parole,  assembled  near  the 
square,  armed  as  well  as  circumstances  per- 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  103 

mitted,  and  fully  determined  to  resist  the  en- 
trance into  private  houses.  Our  unbidden 
visitors  soon  changed  their  language,  and 
withdrew  after  a  short  time  without  offering 
any  molestation  at  all." 

General  Lee's  surrender  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  the  capitulation  of  the  other 
Sontliern  armies.  Gen.  Johnston  sur- 
rendered on  April  26th,  and  on  May  4th 
Gen.  Richard  Taylor,  who  was  the  sen- 
ior Confederate  officer  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, surrendered  everything  in  his 
extensive  command,  and  on  May  26th 
Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith  did  the  same  for 
the  trans-Mississippi  department,  leav- 
ing no  armies  free  to  continue  the  war. 

Of  those  who  went  out  from  Forsyth 
into  the  struggle  the  writer  of  the  Mem- 
orabilia says : 

"As  the  Lord  our  God  thus  exercised  His 
gracious,  guardian  care  over  us  who  had  re- 
mained at  home,  our  numerous  brethren,  sons 
and  friends  who  were  awaj^  from  us  were  also 
mercifully  protected  by  Him. 

"Our  loved  ones  returned  one  after  the  other, 
and  when  we  consider  how  many  of  them  there 
were,  and  to  what  dangers,  hardships  and  pri- 
vations they  were  exposed,  and  how  w^onder- 


101  HISTORY    OF 

fully  they  were  taken  care  of,  and  almost  all  of 
them  allowed  to  return  to  the  bosom  of  their 
families,  surely  we  must  exclaimed  with  one 
heart  and  one  voice:  "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my 
soul,  and  forget  not  all  His  benefitsl" 

Oil  the  l-itli  of  May  the  lOih  Regiment 
of  Ohio  Volunteers  began  a  longer  stay 
in  Winston  and  Salem,  and  Col.  Saunders 
established  his  headquarters  in  the  house 
then  occupied  by  Mr.  Edward  Hege  and 
now  by  Dr.  J.  AY.  Hunter.  They  left  the 
town  on  July  13th,  and  "although  upon 
the  whole  they liad  conducted  theinselves 
tolerably  well  as  a  body,  still  little  regret 
was  felt  at  their  departure,  in  as  much  as 
it  had  appeared  very  plainly  that  their 
presence  was  anything  bnt  necessary  or 
pleasant,  and  their  moral  influence  was 
anything  but  beneficial." 

On  the  29th  of  May  Wm.  \Y.  Ilolden 
was  appointed  provisional  Governor  of 
North  Carolina,  to  hold  office  until  the 
"  loyal  people  "  of  that  State  should  be 
able  to  restore  it  "  to  its  constitutional 
relations  to  the  Federal  Gov*  riimcnt," 
which  restoration  wa^    not  accomplished 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  105 

until  June  25tli  1868,  when  Congress 
passed  an  Act  receiving  the  State  once 
more  into  the  Union,  the  State  Legisla- 
ture having  ratified  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  whereby  suffrage  was 
extended  to  the  former  slaves. 

In  1866  the  100th  Anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  Salem  was  appropriately 
celebrated  in  the  Moravian  Church,  by  a 
large  concourse  of  people.  Shortly  after 
this  festival  a  strong  movement  was 
inaugurated  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating liqnors  in  Salem,  An  appeal  was 
made  to  the  Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter 
Sessions,  who  agreed  not  to  issue  further 
license  if  the  vote  of  the  people  showed 
that  to  be  their  wish.  An  election  was 
held  on  March  17th,  when  "81  votes  were 
cast  in  favor  of  prohibition  "  within  the 
corporate  limits,  and  "  only  15  persons 
could  be  prevailed  upon  to  vote  the  other 
way."  Prohibition  was  therefore  estab- 
lished in  Salem,  and  has  been  the  rule 
ever  since. 


106        HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH   COUNTY. 

During  the  war  tliere  had  been  out- 
breaks of  Smallpox  in  various  parts  of 
the  country,  but  Winston  and  Salem 
escaped  until  the  close  of  1866  when  ihere 
was  quite  an  epidemic  in  Salem.  A 
piece  of  flannel  cloth  had  been  sent  from 
Kichmond  to  one  of  the  pupils  in  the 
Academy,  a  few  days  later  she  was  taken 
sick,  and  before  the  disease  was  recog- 
nized it  had  been  communicated  to  a  num- 
ber of  others.  In  those  days  the  facilities 
for  aproper  quarentine  were  not  available 
and  naturally  many  of  the  girls  were  ill, 
and  from  the  School  the  disease  spread 
into  the  town,  but  throughout  the  entire 
epidemic  not  a  single  death  occurred. 


CHAPTER  XI 


TOWNSHIP  LINES. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  the  Court 
of  Fleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  was  abol- 
ished after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
and  its  functions  (except  the  judicial) 
were  transferred  to  a  Board  of  County 
Co'iUTnissioners.  The  Minute  Docket  says 
of  the  first  meeting  of  the  new  Board. 

"  The  Commissioners  Elect  for  said  County 
met  at  the  Court  House  in  Winston  on  Satur- 
day July  25th  1868,  when  the  followiug  persons 
presents  Certificates  from  General  Edw.  Canby 
commanding  second  Military  District,  that 
at  an  Election  held  in  and  for  the  County  of 
Forsyth  State  of  North  Carolina  on  the  21st 
22nd  &  23rd  days  of  April  1868,  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  law  of  the  United  States  of 
March  2nd  1867  '  To  provide  for  the  more  effi- 
cient government  of  the  rebel  States,'  and  the 
laws  supplementary  thereto  and  amendatory 
thereof,  that  they  was  chosen  by  a  majority  of 
the  qualified  voters  of  said  County  to  their 
respective  oflBces  as  follows  : 


108  HISTORY    OF 

"  William  B.  Doub,  County  Commissioner, 
qualified  as  such  by  Jno.  P.  Vest,  United  States 
Commissioner,  by  taking  oath  i^rescribed  in 
section  4  article  6  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  N.  C.  and  in  accordance  with  an  Act 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  N.  C.  ratified  July 
21st  1868. 

Geo.  Y.  Falp,  G.  H.  Renigar,  AV.  A. 
Harper,  and  Aquilla  Pitts  were  then 
qualified  as  County  Commissioners  by 
Wm.  Doub:  and  Geo.  Fulp  was  made 
chairman  of  the  Board.  X.  S.  Cook, 
Register  of  Deeds,  gave  his  bond  for 
$10,000.00;  Augustus  Fogle,  Coroner, 
gave  his  for  $2,000.00;  R.  Lin  ville,  County 
Treasurer,  and  M.  Masten,  Sherift*,  each 
$5,000.00;  and  John  Blackburn,  Clerk  of 
Superior  Court  $15,000.00. 

The  State  Legislature,  at  its  special 
session  in  186S,  and  its  winter  session 
1868-9,  provided  for  the  regular  bien- 
nial election  of  five  men  as  a  Board  of 
Commissioners  in  each  county,  defined 
the  powers  of  these  Boards,  and  made  it 
''  the  duty  of  the  Commissioners  to  exer- 
cise a  general  supervision  and  control  of 
the    penal    and    charitable    institutions. 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  109 

schools,  roads,  bridges,  levying  of  taxes, 
and  finances  of  the  county  "  as  should  be 
prescribed  by  law. 

In  1876-T  the  Legislature  enacted  that, 
beginning  with  the  1st  Monday  in  June, 
1884,  the  choosing  of  a  Board  of  Com- 
missioners shonld  be  entrusted  to  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace  of  each  county,  who 
should  meet  and  elect  not  more  than 
three  or  less  than  five  persons  to  serve 
in  that  capacity.  To  this  was  added 
the  proviso,  in  1887,  that  no  Justice 
should  be  eligible  for  election  as  County 
Commissioner. 

In  1895  the  election  was  again  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  people  of  the  county, 
and  the  number  of  Commissioners  fixed 
at  three  ;  with  the  condition  that  if  at  any 
time  after  the  election  of  the  Commis- 
sioners as  many  as  five  electors  of  the 
county  should  make  aflidavit  before  the 
Clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  that  ''they 
verily  believed  that  the  business  of  the 
county,  if  left  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
the  three  Commissioners  elected  by  the 


110  HISTORY    OF 

people,  would  be  improperly  managed/' 
then  upon  the  petition  of  2()0  electors  of 
tlie  county  the  judge  of  the  district,  or 
the  judge  presiding  1  herein,  was  to 
appoint  two  citizens  of  a  difierent  j^olit- 
ical  party  from  the  three  already  chosen, 
who  should  become  full  members  of  the 
Board.  At  the  session  of  1897  that  sec 
tion  of  the  Act  "  which  provided  for 
two  such  additional  Commissioners  was 
repealed. 

The  first  duty  laid  upon  the  County 
Commissioners  by  the  Constitution  of 
North  Carolina,  and  the  Acts  of  1868, 
was  the  division  of  their  respective  coun- 
ties into  districts,  "to  determine  the 
boundaries  of  said  Districts,  and  to  report 
the  same  to  the  General  Assembly  before 
the  1st  day  of  January,  1869.  AVhen  . 
this  should  be  done,  and  the  reports 
approved  by  the  General  Assembly  the 
districts  were  "  to  have  corporate  powers 
for  the  necessary  purposes  of  local  gov- 
ernment, and  be  known   as  Townships." 

The  Commissioners   were  further  em 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  Ill 

powered  "  to  erect,  divide  or  alter  Town- 
ships," either  by  the  consent  of  a  certain 
number  of  residents  of  the  townships 
affected,  after  due  advertisement,  or  by 
action  of  the  Legislature.  The  latter 
method  being  the  easier,  has  been  the 
one  adopted  in  Forsyth. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1869,  the  Legis- 
lature enacted — 

"That  the  Districts  reported  by  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  following  counties  of  the 
State  to  the  present  session  of  the  General 
Assembly  are  hereby  approved,  &  said  Dis- 
tricts, in  obedience  to  Art.  VII.,  sec.  3  &  4  of 
the  Constitution,  to-wit,  "  *  Forsyth,  * 
*  *  shall  have  corporate  i^owers  &:  shall  be 
known  as  Townships,  by  the  boundaries  and 
by  the  names  respectively  designated  in  said 
reports.'' 

Mr.  M.  H.  Morris,  the  County  Sur- 
veyor, spent  twenty-five  days  in  running 
the  line  of  the  new  townships,  for  which 
service  he  received  $75.00.  .He  made  no 
map  of  the  county,  but  in  1882  Mr. 
James  T.  Lineback,  by  independent  sur- 
veys and  by  the  nse  of  Mr.  Morris'  notes 
(which     bear    date    of   December    28th, 


112  HISTORY    OF 

186S),  constructed  a  large  map,  a  copy 
of  which  was  placed  in  the  office  of  the 
Register  of  Deeds. 

The  townships  did  not  coincide  with 
the  Captain's  Districts  of  an  earlier  da}^, 
bnt  were  rectangular,  arranged  in  three 
tiers  of  four  each, —  Beleias  Creek,  Salem 
Chapel,  Bethania,  and  Old  Richmond  on 
the  north,  Kernersville,  Middle  Fork, 
Old  Town,  and  Vienna  next,  and 
Ahlotts  Creek,  Broadhay,  South  Fork, 
and  Lewisville  on  the  south. 

Where  Middle  Fork,  Old  Town,  South 
Fork  and  Broadbav  should  have  cornered 
Winston  Township  was  inserted,  the 
lines  corresponding  with  those  of  the 
AVinston  and  Salem  Corporations  on  the 
north  and  west,  and  extending  eastward 
to  Abbotts  Creek  Township,  the  western 
line  of  that  township  being  identical 
with  the  original  AVachovia  survey. 

Between  Vienna  and  Old  Town,  Lewis- 
ville and  South  Fork,  the  Muddy  Creek 
was  made  the  boundary,  elsewhere  nat- 
ural features    were  not  regarded.      Mr. 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  113 

Morris'  notes  show  that  it  was  the  origi- 
nal  intention  to  let  the  Kernersville 
Township  line  drop  back  a  third  of  a 
mile  to  correspond  with  that  of  Belews 
Creek,  but  Mr.  Lineback  found  that 
when  the  line  was  actually  run  it  was 
carried  with  the  Abbotts  Creek  line  and 
Wachovia  survey  to  Belews  Creek  Town- 
ship, the  offset  being  made  at  that 
corner. 

Belews  Creek,  Salem  Chapel,  Ker- 
nersville, Abbotts  Creek  and  Lewisville 
Townships  remain  unchanged  ;  the  oth- 
ers have  been  more  or  less  altered. 

On  March  11th,  1889,  Forsyth  County 

was  enlarged,  and  a  new  township,  Clem- 

monsville^  was  formed  from  the  annexed 

portion.      The  land  was  taken  from  the 

adjoining    county    of    Davidson,    lying 

south  of   Forsyth,  and  the    Act    of  the 

Assembly  provided— 

"  That  from  and  after  the  ratification  of  this 
Act,  all  that  part  of  Davidson  County  lying 
north,  northwest,  and  west  of  a  line  starting 
at  a  point  known  as  the  "  plow-handle  cor- 
ner,"    *    *    and  running  west  23i°  south  3 


114  HISTORY    OF 

miles  to  a  point  on  the  Yadkin  River  at  or 
below  the  mouth  of  Douthit's  branch,  shall 
be  annexed  to  Forsyth  county." 

The  Winston  Township  lines  have 
been  altered  several  times,  chiefly  to  cor- 
respond with  changes  in  the  corporation 
limits  of  Winston  and  Salem.  Of  these 
Salem  was  the  first  to  be  incorporated, 
the  General  Assembly  of  1S56-7  fixing 
the  limit  on  the  north  at  the  Court 
House  Tract,  on  the  south  at  the  Middle 
Fork  of  Muddy  Creek,  and  east  and  west 
one-half  mile  from  the  centre  of  Main 
Street. 

Winston  was  incorporated  in  1859, 
being  bounded  as  follows:  "On  the 
south  by  the  town  of  Salem  ;  on  the  north 
by  a  line  one-fourth  of  a  mile  distant 
from  and  parallel  with  the  northern  line 
of  the  present  town  of  Winston  or  Court 
House  Tract  ;  on  the  west  by  a  line  run- 
ning parallel  with  the  streets  of  Wins- 
ton, and  1,278  feet  from  the  centre  of 
the  Court  House;  and  on  the  east  by  a 
line  running  parallel  with  the  western 
boundary  and  one-half  of  a  mile  distant 


FORSYTH    COUNTY.  115 

therefrom."  These  were  the  lines  around 
Salem  and  AVinston  at  the  time  that  the 
townships  were  surveyed. 

At  the  session  of  1876-77  the  Winston 
Charter  was  revised,  and  the  boundaries 
widened  out,  so  that  they  began  "  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  corporate  bound- 
aries of  the  town  of  Salem  and  southeast 
corner  of  the  town  of  Winston,  thence 
running  north  80°  east  SO  poles,  thence 
north  parallel  with  the  AVinston  line  31:5 
poles,  thence  west  one  and  one-half  miles 
or  480  poles,  thence  south  parallel  with 
the  western  boundary  of  AVinston  345 
poles  more  or  less  to  a  point  south  80° 
west  of  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town 
of  Salem,  thence  north  80°  east  80  poles 
to  said  north-west  corner  of  Salem,  thence 
north  80°  east  along  the  boundary  line 
of  Salem  and  AVinston  to  the  beginning." 
This  made  AVinston  fully  four  times  as 
large  as  formerly,  and  considerably  in- 
creased the  territory  of  the  township. 

In    1889    Salem    extended  her   limits 
westwardly,  running  "  with  the  AA^inston 


116  HISTORY    OF 

Corporation  line  500  feet ''  from  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  town  of  Salem, 
''  thence  southwardly  and  parallel  with 
the  present  western  boundary  of  Salem 
to  the  north  side  of  the  old  Paper  Mill 
road  at  the  south  boundary  of  Lineback's 
orchard,  tlience  along  the  north  side  of 
the  old  Paper  Mill  road  in  an  eastwardly 
direction  "  until  it  met  the  old  line.  Still 
further  advance  was  made  toward  the 
west  in  1S91,  the  line  beginning  at  the 
AVinston  corner,  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  centre  of  Main  Street,  and  run- 
ning south  9°  east  one  mile,  then  north 
81°  east  one-quarter  of  a  mile,  thence 
south  9°  east  to  Middle  Fork  Creek. 
Both  of  these  changes  involved  an  alter- 
ation in  the  township  line,  and  the  sec- 
ond is  the  present  line  of  the  Salem  Cor- 
poration and  that  part  of  the  Winston 
Township. 

The  Legislature  of  1S95  changed  the 
boundary  lines  of  Winston,  Middle  Fork 
and  Broadbay  Townships,  enacting  that, 
"  That  part    of    Winston    Township  lying 


FOKSYTH    COUNTY.  117 

south  and  east  of  Middle  Fork  Creek,  and 
known  as  the  'pan-handle,'  and  that  part  of 
Middle  Fork  Township  lying  north  [south] 
and  east  of  Middle  Fork  Creek,  be  and  the 
same  is  hereby  made  a  part  of  Broadbay 
Township  ;  and  that  part  of  Winston  Town- 
ship lying  north  of  Middle  Fork  Creek  and 
east  of  Brushy  F6rk,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
made  a  part  of  Middle  Fork  Township." 

This  made  Middle  Fork  the  southern, 
and  Brushy  Fork  and  the  Winston  line 
the  eastern  boundary  of  AYinston  Town- 
ship, the  northern  line  remaining  as  be- 
fore as  far  as  Brushy  Fork. 

The  present  boundary  west  of  Wins- 
ton was  lixed  in  1897,  when  the  line  run- 
ning "  N.  89°  W.  along  the  old  corpora- 
tion line  "  was  stopped  at  the  east  side 
of  the  Old  Town  road,-proceeding  thence 
"  in  a  southerly  direction  along  the  east 
side  of  said  road  to  Peters'  Creek,  thence 
in  a  southwesterly  direction  down  Peters' 
Creek  to  the  north  side  of  the  Shallow- 
ford  road  to  the  point  at  which  the  road 
forks  (the  north  fork  running  to  Wins- 
ton, and  the  south  fork  to  Salem),  thence 
in  a  southeasterly  direction  to  the  north- 


lis        HISTORY  OF  FORSYTH  COUNTY. 

west  corner  of  tlie  Salem  Corporation." 
The  portion  of  Winston  Township  left 
out  to  the  north-west  was  given  to  Old 
Town  Township,  and  the  included  part 
of  South  Fork  w^as  added  to  Winston. 

In  1895  a  new  township  was  created 
in  Forsyth.  Bethania  Township  received 
the  name  of  Rural  Hall,  and  a  new 
towMiship,  to  be  called  Bethania,  was 
placed  at  the  point  of  meetino^  of  Old 
Richmond,  A^ienna,  Rnral  Hall,  and 
Old  Town.  It  extends  "  two  and  a  half 
miles  north,  south,  east,  and  west  from 
the  town  of  Bethania,"  the  east  and  west 
corners  of  the  square  falling  on  the  line 
between  Old  Bichmond  and  Yienna, 
Bural  Hall  and  Old  Town.  It  was  prob- 
ably the  intention  that  the  north  corner 
should  fall  on  the  boundary  between 
Old  Kichmond  and  Bural  Hall,  but  when 
surveyed  it  came  a  short  distance  to  the 
east. 

At  the  present  time,  therefore,  For- 
sytli  County  contains  fifteen  townships. 


FORSYTH    COUKT   HOUSE. 
^^^4-         i    S  i^  v/. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


FORSYTH   COURT   HOUSE. 

On  the  9th  of  j^ovember,  1895,  the 
County  Commissioners — M.  D.  Bailey, 
E.  S.  Linville,  and  E.  W.  Hanser — took 
np  a  subject  which  had  been  attracting 
the  attention  of  Judo^es  and  Grand 
Juries  for  five  years  past,  namely,  the 
building  of  a  new  Court  House  for  For- 
syth County,  the  old  one  having  become 
totally  inadequate  for  the  purposes  for 
which  it  was  designed. 

It  was  determined  to  build  the  new 
house  on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  at  a  cost 
of  850,000.00,  which  was  later  increased 
to  $55,000.00.  Frank  P.  M-ilburn  was 
accepted  as  architect,  and  the  contract 
for  construction  was  given  to  L.  P.  Ha- 
zen  &  Co. 

It  was  the  orio^inal  intention  to  cover 


120  HISTORY    OF 

this  pro}30sed  cost  bj  notes  payable  in 
three,  four,  and  live  years,  secured  by  a 
mortgage  on  the  Court  House  lot,  but 
this  was  given  up,  and  one  hundred  and 
ten  8500.00  Bonds  were  issued  to  run 
live,  ten,  and  fifteen  years. 

In  February,  1896,  the  old  Court 
House  was  torn  down,  the  Register  of 
Deeds  and  Clerk  of  the  Court  moving 
their  offices  into  the  Jacobs  building, 
and  the  Sherilf  into  the  Montague  build- 
ing on  Main  Street.  Court  was  held  in 
the  Armory,  and  the  County  Commis- 
sioners met  in  the  office  of  the  Register 
of  Deeds  while  the  buildinc:  was  croinor 
on,  and  on  the  11th  of  January,  1897, 
the  new  Court  House  was  declared  fin- 
ished and  ready  for  use. 

Standing  on  a  slight  eminence  in  the 
heart  of  a  busy  little  city,  this  handsome 
structure  of  granite,  buflf  brick  and 
brownstone  is  as  great  a  contrast  to  the 
modest  building  whose  place  it  took  as 
is  the  present  county  seat,  with  its  wide- 
spread suburbs,  to  the  three  streets  and 


FOESYTH    COUNTY 


121 


handful  of  houses  of  the  ''  county  town  " 
of  1849,  and  both  speak  eloquently  of 
the  great  strides  that  Forsyth  County 
has  made  during  the  lifty  years  of  her 
existence. 


(ff>^' 


n 


>^vX>^ 


V' 


INDEX 


Abbotts  Creek  Township 112,  113 

Affirmation  of  Allegiance 36,  39 

Administrator,  Office  of 29,  45,  46 

Albemarle  County 4,  6 

Anson  County 6,  10 

Bagge,  Traugott 35,  43,  44 

Bailey,  M.  D 119 

Banner,  Constantine  L 64,  66,  74,  76,  80 

Bath  County 5,  6 

Belews  Creek  Township 112,  113 

Benzien,  Christian  Lewis 44,  45,  46 

Bethabara 22,  25,  35,  61 

Bethania 26,  96 

Bethania  Township 112,  118 

Blackburn,  John 97,  108 

Bladen  Precinct  and  County 6 

Blanket  Bottom  Tract 43 

Boner,  Joshua 98,  99,  100 

Broadbay  Township 50,  112,  116 

Carolina— 

Charter  of  Charles  1 3,  82 

Charters  of  Charles  II 3,  4,  8 

Grant  of  George  II 9 

North  Carolina 7 

South  Carolina 7 

Purchase  of 8 

Carteret,  John,  Lord 8 

Churton,  William 41,  42 


124  INDEX. 

Civil  War— 

Secession 89 

Confederate  States  of  America 89 

Confederate  Army 90,  92,  102 

Conscription  Act 92,  93 

Surrender 102,  103 

Tenth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteers 104 

Clarendon  County 4,  5 

Clemmonsville  Township 113 

Confederate  Army— 

Volunteers 90,  92 

Conscripts 92 

North  Carolina  Troops 93 

Surrender 102,  103 

Confederate   States 89,  103 

Confiscation  Act 34 

Conrad,  Leonard 16 

Cornwallis,  Lord 37,  83 

Cossart,  Christian  Frederick 41 

Counties— 

Albemarle 4,  6 

Anson 6,  10 

Bath 5,  6 

Bladen 6 

Clarendon 4,  5 

Craven 4 

Forsyth 15,  82 

New  Hanover 0 

Rowan 10,  11 

Stokes 13,  71,  72 

Surrv 11,  12,  31,  71 


INDEX.  125 

County  Commissioners— 

Board  of 107 

First  Commissioners 108 

Powers  and  Duties  of 108,  110 

Election  of 109 

Court  House,  Second 119 

County  Jail 64,  79 

Court  House,  First 54,  64,  76,  120 

Court  House,  Second 119 

Court  House  Tract— 

Commissioners 16,  53,  65 

Site  of 53 

Purchase  of 55 

Plan  of 62 

Deed  to 55 

Sale  of  Lots 63 

Winston 67 

Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Ses- 
sions   16,  73,  76,  79,  107 

Craven  County 4 

Crooke,  Adam 75 

CunoAV,  John  Gebhard 45 

Davis,  Jefferson 89,  92 

Dobbs,  Grov.  Arthur 19,  23 

Dobbs  Parish ; 25,  31 

Dobson's  Cross  Roads 47 

Florida 3 

Fogle,  Augustus 94,  100,  108 

Forsyth,  Col.  Benj 15 

Forsyth  County 15,  10 

Addition  to 113 


126  INDEX. 

Forsyth  County— ContiDued. 

Civil  War 89,  94,  103 

County  Commissioners 107 

Court  House  Tract 16,  53 

Court  House,  First 54,  76 

Court  House,  Second 119 

Courts 72,  81,  107 

Early  Settlements....  22,  26,  27,  47,  48,  50,  51 

Map  of Ill 

Militia 82 

Poor  House 66 

Taxes 74 

Townships 110 

Wachovia  Tract,  Line  of 25,  31,  112 

Winston,  County  Town 67 

Friedberg 48 

Friedland 50 

Fries,  Francis 16,  57,  74,  79 

Graff,  Rev.  Michael 43 

Grant  to  Lord  Granville 8,  9 

Granville,  Earl 8,  17,  42 

Granville's  Line 9,  11 

Granville,  Sir  Robert 30 

Hauser,  E.  W 119 

Heath,  Sir  Robert 3 

Holden,  William  W 104 

Hope 51 

Home,  Rev.  William 43 

Hutton,  James 18,  29,  34,  39,  41,  45 

Inferior  Court 81 

Indian  War 25,  83 


INDEX.  127 

Justices  of  the  Peace 72,  81,  109 

Kerner,  Joseph 48 

Kernersville 47 

Kernersville  Township 112, 113 

Kluge,  Charles  F 46,  55,  66 

Lash,  Israel 74 

Lash,  Jacob 42 

Lease  System  in  Salem 30,  59 

Lemly,  Henry  A 16 

Lewisville  Township 112,  113 

Liberty 87 

Lincoln,  Abraham 90,  93 

Lineback,  James  T Ill 

Linville,  R.  S 119 

Little  Yadkin 13 

Lords  Proprietors,  Eight 3,  4,  7,  82 

Marshall,  Frederick  William 

von 28,  33,  34,  37,  40,  44,  45,  46 

Martin,  Gov.  Alexander 38 

McBride,  Jesse 75 

Meinung,  Frederick  C 58,  65,  66,  73 

Metcalf  Lands 41,  42 

Middle  Fork  Township 112,  116 

Militia— 

Need  for 82 

Organized 83 

Revolutionary  War 83 

Colonels  Commandant 88 

Second  Regiment  Stokes  County 

Militia 86 

General  Musters 87 


128  INDEX. 

Militia— Continued. 

Refused  to  President  Lincoln 91 

Civil  War 88,  90 

State  Guard 88 

Moravian  Church 17,  31,  36 

Moravian  Congregation  of  Salem  Incor- 
porated    60 

Morris,  M.  H Ill 

New  Hanover,  Precinct  and  County 5,  6 

North  Carolina 7,  8,  9 

Militia  in  Revolutionary  War 83 

Secession  of 91 

Militia  in  Civil  War 88,  90 

Regulars  in  Civil  War 90,  91 

Stoneman's  Raid 95 

Tenth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteers 104 

Provisional  Governor 104 

Re-admitted  to  Union 105 

Old  Richmond  Township 113,  118 

Old  Town 22 

Old  Town  Township 112, 118 

Palmer,  General 98,  99 

Patterson,  Rufus  L 98 

Poor  House 66 

Precincts— 

Bladen 6 

Xew  Hanover 5,  6 

Proclamation  of  Emancipation.- 93 

Prohibition  in  Salem 105 


INDEX.  129 

Proprietors  of  Wachovia  Tract 30,  44,  45 

Provincial  Elders,  Board  of 46,  61 

Public  School  Lot 56,  63 

Reichel,  Bishop  J.  F 37 

Revolutionary  War 33,  70,  88 

Rowan  County 10 

Rowan,  Matthew 10 

Rural  Hall  Township 118 

Salem— 

Site  of 26 

Proposed  Plan  for 27 

Settlement  of 28 

Salem  Land 30,  53,  58 

Salem  Congregation  Dlacony 58 

Warden,  Office  of 30 

Visit  of  Cornwallis 37 

Meeting  of  General  Assembly  in 38 

Visit  of  George  Washington 37 

Moravian  Congregation  Incorporated....  60 

Provincial  Elders,  Board  of 46,  61 

Lease  System 30,  59 

Court  House  Tract 16,  53 

Salem  Concert  Hall 72,  80 

Salem  Female  Academy 60,  94,  106 

Stoneman's  Raid 95 

Disbanded  Soldiers .- 102 

Tenth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteers 104 

One  Hundredth  Anniversary 105 

Prohibition  in 105 

Corporation  Lines 114,  115 

Salem  Chapel  Township 112,  113 

9 


130  INDEX. 

Salem  Congregation  Diacony 58 

Salem  Female  Academy 60,  94,  106 

Salem  Land 30,  53,  58 

Schweinitz,  Emil  A.  de 46,  60 

Schweinitz,  Lewis  David  von 45,  46 

Schweinitz,  Robert  de 98 

Secession  of  North  Carolina 91 

Shultz,  Theodore 46 

South  Carolina 7,  8 

Southern  Province  of  the  Moravian 

Church 31,61 

South  Fork  Township 112,  118 

Spach,  Adam 48 

Spangenberg,  Bishop  Joseph 17 

Stafford,  John 16 

Stafford,  Zadok 16 

Starbuck,  Darius  H 64,  97 

Stokes  County 13,  71,  72 

Stokes,  Judge  John 13 

Stoneman's  Raid 95 

Surry  County 11,  12,  31,  71 

Superior  Court 75,  81 

Townships— 

Division  of  County 110 

Boundaries  and  Names, 

112,  113,  114,  116,  118 
Tenth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteers 104 

Unitas   Fratrum 17,  19,  36,  44,  62 

United  Brethren 39 

Van  Vleck,  William  Henry 45 


INDEX.  131 

Vienna  Township 112,  118 

Wachovia  Sustentation  Diacony 60 

Wachovia  Tract— 

Selection  of 18 

Purchase  Money 18,  20 

Deed  to 18 

Pioneer  Settlers 20,  22,  26,  27,  48,  50,  51 

Dobbs  Parish 25,  31 

Indian  War 25 

Salem  Land 30,  53,  58 

Administrators 29,  45,  46 

Snrry  County  Line 31 

Revolutionary  War 33 

Confiscation  Act 34,  39 

Title  Transferred 34 

Title  Confirmed 40 

Proprietors 28,  44,  45 

Purchase  of  Quit-Rents 43 

Wachovia  Sustentation  Diacony 60 

Total  Cost  of 44 

Warden,  Office  of 30 

Wardens  of  the  Poor 65 

Washington,  George 37 

Wilson,  Thomas  J 54,  56,  64,  65,  73,  97,  98 

WiNSTOX— 

Court  House  Tract 16,  53 

County  Town  Named 67 

Court  House,  First... 54,  64,  76,  120 

Jail 64 

Courts 72 

Stoneman's  Raid 96 


IS'2  INDEX. 

WixsTOX— Continued. 

Disbanded  Soldiers 102 

Tenth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteers 104 

Corporation  Lines 114,  116,  117 

Court  House,  Second 119 

Winston,  Major  Joseph 68,  84 

Winston  Township 112 

Zinzendorf,  Count 18,  27,  39 


I  J 


